Morocco Rejects Catalan Independence Declaration, Pledges ‘Full Support’ to Spain

 After Catalonia declared independence from Spain on Friday, Morocco has strongly condemned the Catalan parliament’s decision.

On October 27, Catalan leaders took to the parliament to cast their vote on whether the region should declare independence.

Yesterday’s poll showed majority for Catalan members of parliament support the region’s independence as seventy members of parliament supported independence.

Catalonia’s decision, however, prompted international outcry as many countries denounced the declaration.

Morocco, which has been facing a separatist menace for many years from the so-called Polisario Front, announced that it does not and will not recognize the unilateral declaration of independence of Catalonia in the future, in a statement by the ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation.

The statement added that Morocco understands the reaction of the Spanish authorities and expresses its full support of them.

“In these particular circumstances in neighboring Spain, the Kingdom of Morocco gives its full support for the Spanish government, in order to ensure respect for the Constitution and preserve the national unity and sovereignty of the country.”

After Catalonia’s declaration, the Spanish government dissolved the region’s parliament and fired Catalan President Carles Puigdemont and sacked elected leaders.

The Spanish Prime Minister, Mariano Rajoy, also called for fresh elections for the region, which will take place on December 21.

“We never wanted to come to this point,” Rajoy stated, adding that his aim is “to return [Catalonia] to normality and legality as soon as possible,” reported British news outlet The Independent.

French President Emmanuel Macron, who was in French Guiana, expressed his full support to Rajoy over the Catalonia crisis on the sidelines of the visit. The president said that “there is a rule of law in Spain with constitutional rules. Mariano Rajoy wants these rules to be respected and he has my full support.”

President of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker, who was accompanying Macron during his visit, said that he does not want a “situation where, tomorrow, the European Union is made up of 95 different states.”

Juncker added that the EU “needs to avoid splits, because we already have enough splits and fractures and we do not need any more,” reported Reuters.

Sarah Huckabee Sanders, the White House Spokesperson said that the United States reiterates their support for a unified Spain.

Morocco has always supported Spain national unity. Earlier this month, Morocco’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a statement saying that the independence of Catalonia is “irresponsible and unsustainable.”

The ministry said that Catalonia’s move is a source of instability and division not only in Spain but throughout Europe, expressing the country’s full confidence in the ability of the Spanish government to “wisely manage the situation.”