Sidi Ifni
Encyclopedia
Sidi Ifni is a city located in southwest Morocco
, on the shores of the Atlantic Ocean
. It has a population of 20,000 people. The economic base of the city is fishing. It belongs to the Sous-Massa-Draa economic region and to the Sidi Ifni province. Its inhabitants are mainly Chleuhs from the Ait Baamrane tribe. In 2000, an important fishing port was concluded, which serves as a base for fish exports.
Ait Baamran tribe has long inhabited the small town and the region surrounding it. They worked in husbandry and traded with Europeans and northern Morocco
being intermediaries in the trans-Saharan trade.
In 1476, an enclave in the region of present-day Sidi Ifni was occupied by Spain
, which named its settlement there Santa Cruz de la Mar Pequeña
. It remained in Spanish hands until 1524 when it was captured by Saadian rulers.
Historically, Sidi Ifni is claimed to be the location of Santa Cruz de la Mar Pequeña, which had been for long pursued by Spain who built a small coastal fortress there in the 15th century. Although the existence of the fortress is widely documented, historians could not determine its exact location along the coast between Agadir
and Tarfaya
. In 1860, following the Spanish-Moroccan War
, Morocco
conceded Sidi Ifni and the territory of Ifni
to Spain as a part of the Treaty of Tangiers
. During the period often termed the "Scramble for Africa" in 1884, Spain acquired what is now Western Sahara
. Spain occupied Sidi Ifni and Western Sahara jointly, although the latter was formally known under the name Spanish Sahara
, or Río de Oro
and Saguia el-Hamra
.
Until 1952, Ifni region had the status of a protectorate. In this year, the region became part of Spanish Western Africa (entity that grouped the colonies of Spanish Sahara and Cape Juby, with its capital defined in Villa Bens –Tarfaya nowadays–, in Morocco).
Since Morocco
obtained its independence in 1956, it claimed the territory in various occasions. The first was in August 1957, by stating that the French-Spanish treaty from 1912 had been derogated. By late 1957 serious incidents had occurred in the border, starting the Ifni War
, being Ifni
garrisons attacked by the irregular troops led by Moroccan nationalists of the Istiqlal party, and supported tacitly by the king. They called themselves Moroccan Liberation Army.
The Spanish Army
retreated from most territory with the purpose of establishing a defensive line limited to Sidi Ifni surroundings. The Moroccan Liberation Army just took control of the abandoned territory. However, this war was never formally declared nor finished. Spain and Morocco signed on the 1st April 1958 the Agreements of Angra de Cintra, by which Cape Juby
was given to Morocco
in June 1958. The lost territories of Ifni
region were never regained. They were integrated in Morocco. In the defensive line in Sidi Ifni the border was settled and the city remained under Spanish
rule as one actual province
of Spain
.
In 1969, mostly due to international pressure, Spain
relinquished Sidi Ifni to Morocco
.
On May 30, dozens of unemployed workers started to block the port as to protest against not having been employed there. Unloading of fish was hindered. The following day, barriers were erected around the port. Several mediation intents with local officials gave no result. On June 6, around 500-600 people protested in the town and, moved by rumours that a police force from Tiznit or Agadir was to arrive, in the first hours of June 7, several entrances to the town were blocked by protesters. A local official was severely harassed by the protesters. At 6:30am on the same day, a police force composed of some 8,000 agents entered the city, dispersed the protesters employing rubber bullets and reopened the port Many of the protesters fled to the surrounding mountains. The police then entered houses in the neighbourhoods of Boulaalame and Lalla Meryem and started to arrest people in a violent way. Abuse, harassment and theft took place. Around 182 people were detained and all but 10 were liberated later that day. 12 cases of torture leading to up to 30 days of temporal incapacity and around 35 cases of aggression or harassment were proven the by Moroccan Human Rights organisation OMDH.
On June 7, the Qatar
owned TV chain Al Jazeera
stated that between 8 and 10 people had been killed during the police intervention. Amnesty International's 2009 report reads that, "They [the Moroccan police] also conducted unauthorized raids on homes, confiscated property, verbally and sexually harassed people, and carried out arbitrary arrests and detentions." "The relation between the Moroccan government and Al Jazeera was seriously deteriorated and in July, Brahim Sbaalil, a spokesperson for the islamist-leaning Centre Marocain des Droits Humain (CMDH) that had echoed the claim, was condemned to 6 months in prison for "spreading false accusations".
Morocco
Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...
, on the shores of the Atlantic Ocean
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...
. It has a population of 20,000 people. The economic base of the city is fishing. It belongs to the Sous-Massa-Draa economic region and to the Sidi Ifni province. Its inhabitants are mainly Chleuhs from the Ait Baamrane tribe. In 2000, an important fishing port was concluded, which serves as a base for fish exports.
History
The BerberBerber
Berber may refer to:*a member of the Berber people**the Berber languages, a family of Afro-Asiatic languages**Berberism, a political-cultural term supporting a distinct Berber identity**Berber calendar**Berber cuisine...
Ait Baamran tribe has long inhabited the small town and the region surrounding it. They worked in husbandry and traded with Europeans and northern Morocco
Morocco
Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...
being intermediaries in the trans-Saharan trade.
In 1476, an enclave in the region of present-day Sidi Ifni was occupied by Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
, which named its settlement there Santa Cruz de la Mar Pequeña
Santa Cruz de la Mar Pequeña
Santa Cruz de la Mar Pequeña was a Spanish settlement in the Western coast of Africa, across from the Canary Islands, founded in 1476 as a trading post with a fortress...
. It remained in Spanish hands until 1524 when it was captured by Saadian rulers.
Historically, Sidi Ifni is claimed to be the location of Santa Cruz de la Mar Pequeña, which had been for long pursued by Spain who built a small coastal fortress there in the 15th century. Although the existence of the fortress is widely documented, historians could not determine its exact location along the coast between Agadir
Agadir
Agadir is a major city in southwest Morocco, capital of the Agadir province and the Sous-Massa-Draa economic region .-Etymology:...
and Tarfaya
Tarfaya
- References :CitationsBibliography* Didier Daurat, , France: Édition Dynamo, 1954....
. In 1860, following the Spanish-Moroccan War
Spanish-Moroccan War (1859)
The Hispano-Moroccan War, also known as the Spanish–Moroccan War, the First Moroccan War, the Tetuán War, or, in Spain, as the African War , was fought from Spain's declaration of war on Morocco on 22 October 1859 until the Treaty of Wad-Ras on 26 April 1860...
, Morocco
Morocco
Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...
conceded Sidi Ifni and the territory of Ifni
Ifni
Ifni was a Spanish province on the Atlantic coast of Morocco, south of Agadir and across from the Canary Islands.It had a total area of 1,502 km² , and a population of 51,517 in 1964. The main industry was fishing....
to Spain as a part of the Treaty of Tangiers
Treaty of Tangiers
The Treaty of Tangiers was signed on September 10, 1844 whereby Morocco officially recognized Algeria as part of the French Empire. The advent of the treaty came after the defeat of Morocco in the First Franco-Moroccan War . A second treaty in 1860 forced Morocco to cede Sidi Ifni to the Spanish...
. During the period often termed the "Scramble for Africa" in 1884, Spain acquired what is now Western Sahara
Western Sahara
Western Sahara is a disputed territory in North Africa, bordered by Morocco to the north, Algeria to the northeast, Mauritania to the east and south, and the Atlantic Ocean to the west. Its surface area amounts to . It is one of the most sparsely populated territories in the world, mainly...
. Spain occupied Sidi Ifni and Western Sahara jointly, although the latter was formally known under the name Spanish Sahara
Spanish Sahara
Spanish Sahara was the name used for the modern territory of Western Sahara when it was ruled as a territory by Spain between 1884 and 1975...
, or Río de Oro
Río de Oro
Río de Oro , is, with Saguia el-Hamra, one of the two territories that formed the Spanish province of Spanish Sahara after 1969; it was originally taken as a Spanish colonial possession in the late 19th century...
and Saguia el-Hamra
Saguia el-Hamra
Saguia el-Hamra, in Arabic الساقية الحمراء, al-Saqiyah al-Hamra'a , is, with Río de Oro, one of the two territories that formed the Spanish province of Spanish Sahara after 1969. Its name comes from a waterway that goes through the capital....
.
Until 1952, Ifni region had the status of a protectorate. In this year, the region became part of Spanish Western Africa (entity that grouped the colonies of Spanish Sahara and Cape Juby, with its capital defined in Villa Bens –Tarfaya nowadays–, in Morocco).
Since Morocco
Morocco
Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...
obtained its independence in 1956, it claimed the territory in various occasions. The first was in August 1957, by stating that the French-Spanish treaty from 1912 had been derogated. By late 1957 serious incidents had occurred in the border, starting the Ifni War
Ifni War
The Ifni War, sometimes called the Forgotten War in Spain , was a series of armed incursions into Spanish West Africa by Moroccan insurgents and Sahrawi rebels that began in October 1957 and culminated with the abortive siege of Sidi Ifni.The war, which may be seen as part of the general movement...
, being Ifni
Ifni
Ifni was a Spanish province on the Atlantic coast of Morocco, south of Agadir and across from the Canary Islands.It had a total area of 1,502 km² , and a population of 51,517 in 1964. The main industry was fishing....
garrisons attacked by the irregular troops led by Moroccan nationalists of the Istiqlal party, and supported tacitly by the king. They called themselves Moroccan Liberation Army.
The Spanish Army
Spanish Army
The Spanish Army is the terrestrial army of the Spanish Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is one of the oldest active armies - dating back to the 15th century.-Introduction:...
retreated from most territory with the purpose of establishing a defensive line limited to Sidi Ifni surroundings. The Moroccan Liberation Army just took control of the abandoned territory. However, this war was never formally declared nor finished. Spain and Morocco signed on the 1st April 1958 the Agreements of Angra de Cintra, by which Cape Juby
Cape Juby
Cape Juby is a cape on the coast of southern Morocco, near the border with Western Sahara, directly east of the Canary Islands.Its surrounding area, called Cape Juby strip or Tarfaya strip, while making up presently the far South of Morocco, is in a way a semi-desertic buffer zone between Morocco...
was given to Morocco
Morocco
Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...
in June 1958. The lost territories of Ifni
Ifni
Ifni was a Spanish province on the Atlantic coast of Morocco, south of Agadir and across from the Canary Islands.It had a total area of 1,502 km² , and a population of 51,517 in 1964. The main industry was fishing....
region were never regained. They were integrated in Morocco. In the defensive line in Sidi Ifni the border was settled and the city remained under Spanish
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
rule as one actual province
Province
A province is a territorial unit, almost always an administrative division, within a country or state.-Etymology:The English word "province" is attested since about 1330 and derives from the 13th-century Old French "province," which itself comes from the Latin word "provincia," which referred to...
of Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
.
In 1969, mostly due to international pressure, Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
relinquished Sidi Ifni to Morocco
Morocco
Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...
.
Ifni Protests
In June 2008, violent protests took place in Sidi Ifni; according to the first media reports 8 people were killed by police forces, but this claim was later not substantiated.On May 30, dozens of unemployed workers started to block the port as to protest against not having been employed there. Unloading of fish was hindered. The following day, barriers were erected around the port. Several mediation intents with local officials gave no result. On June 6, around 500-600 people protested in the town and, moved by rumours that a police force from Tiznit or Agadir was to arrive, in the first hours of June 7, several entrances to the town were blocked by protesters. A local official was severely harassed by the protesters. At 6:30am on the same day, a police force composed of some 8,000 agents entered the city, dispersed the protesters employing rubber bullets and reopened the port Many of the protesters fled to the surrounding mountains. The police then entered houses in the neighbourhoods of Boulaalame and Lalla Meryem and started to arrest people in a violent way. Abuse, harassment and theft took place. Around 182 people were detained and all but 10 were liberated later that day. 12 cases of torture leading to up to 30 days of temporal incapacity and around 35 cases of aggression or harassment were proven the by Moroccan Human Rights organisation OMDH.
On June 7, the Qatar
Qatar
Qatar , also known as the State of Qatar or locally Dawlat Qaṭar, is a sovereign Arab state, located in the Middle East, occupying the small Qatar Peninsula on the northeasterly coast of the much larger Arabian Peninsula. Its sole land border is with Saudi Arabia to the south, with the rest of its...
owned TV chain Al Jazeera
Al Jazeera
Al Jazeera is an independent broadcaster owned by the state of Qatar through the Qatar Media Corporation and headquartered in Doha, Qatar...
stated that between 8 and 10 people had been killed during the police intervention. Amnesty International's 2009 report reads that, "They [the Moroccan police] also conducted unauthorized raids on homes, confiscated property, verbally and sexually harassed people, and carried out arbitrary arrests and detentions." "The relation between the Moroccan government and Al Jazeera was seriously deteriorated and in July, Brahim Sbaalil, a spokesperson for the islamist-leaning Centre Marocain des Droits Humain (CMDH) that had echoed the claim, was condemned to 6 months in prison for "spreading false accusations".