RABAT – Seun Kuti, son of Afrobeat legend Fela Kuti, has cancelled a concert in Morocco to mourn last week’s tragedy on the border of Spain’s Melilla enclave in which at least 23 African migrants were killed by Moroccan forces.
Saxophonist and singer, Kuti, had been set to play, on Saturday, at the Jazzablanca festival in the Moroccan port city of Casablanca.
“It is with great sadness that I announce the cancellation of our trip to Morocco for Jazzablanca,” said Seun Kuti, son of legendary Afrobeat precursor Fela Kuti, in a video posted on his Instagram account, adding that :”My spirit has been completely broken and shattered” by last Friday’s events.
“It is impossible for me in good faith and in good conscience to get on stage, party and have a good time when so many Africans have lost their lives. Somebody has to mourn them.”
Jazzablanca confirmed to AFP that Kuti’s concert had been cancelled due to “a personal decision by the artist”.
At least 23 migrants of African descent died after Moroccan police used disproportionate force as they tried to prevent nearly 2,000 of them from entering the Spanish enclave of Melilla, according to an official report.
This toll is the deadliest ever recorded during the many attempts by sub-Saharan migrants to enter Melilla and the neighboring Spanish enclave of Ceuta, the European Union’s only land borders with the African continent.
As a reminder, several calls were made in Spain and elsewhere, to demand an independent investigation into this “tragedy”.
President of the Commission of the African Union (AU), Moussa Faki Mahamat, denounced “the violent and degrading treatment of African migrants” by the Moroccan security forces, Friday, during an attempt to enter the Spanish enclave of Melilla and demanded an investigation into this tragedy.
“I am deeply shocked and concerned at the violent and degrading treatment of African migrants attempting to cross an international border from Morocco into Spain, with the ensuing violence resulting in the death of at least 23 people and many injuries”, said Moussa Faki in a press release published on the AU website.
“I call for an immediate investigation into the matter and remind all countries of their obligations under international law to treat all migrants with dignity and to prioritize their safety and human rights, while refraining from the use of excessive force,” he added.
South Africa, on Thursday, called for an “immediate” and “independent” investigation into the deaths of at least 23 migrants of African origin, brutally killed, on Friday, by Moroccan police as they attempted to enter the Spanish enclave of Melilla from Morocco.
The South African Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO) expressed, in a statement to the media, its “deep regret and concern” over the deaths of at least 23 people and the injuries of several other migrants who attempted to cross the border from Morocco to the Spanish enclave of Melilla.
“We align ourselves with the statements of the African Union (AU) and the United Nations (UN) which call for an immediate, independent, effective and transparent investigation into the matter”, pointed out the document, stressing that “it is imperative that UN Member States respect internationally agreed norms and standards to protect human rights, human dignity and the protection of those fleeing war, persecution and discrimination”.
The South African Department of International Relations and Cooperation also recalled that “such violent incidents inflicted on migrants are on the increase around the world”.
“Aware of these national, regional and global trends, DIRCO calls on all States to commit to treating migrants and their families with the human rights recognized for them by international law”, the same source stressed.
On Wednesday, the NGO Human Rights Watch (HRW) called for the opening of an “independent” and “impartial” investigation capable of “determining what happened and who bears responsibility for the loss of life of migrants” .
Moroccan authorities say the individuals died as a result of a “stampede” of people who attempted to climb the iron fence that separates the city of Melilla and Morocco. Morocco’s Interior Ministry said 76 civilians were also injured.
Meanwhile, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez condemned what he described as a “violent assault” and an “attack on the territorial integrity” of Spain.
Spanish officials said 49 Civil Guards sustained minor injuries.
“If there is anyone responsible for everything that appears to have taken place at that border, it is the mafias that traffic in human beings,” Sánchez said.
“We call for the opening of a rapid and transparent investigation,” Mohamed Amine Abidar, the president of the Moroccan Association for Human Rights (AMDH) branch in Nador, in the north, told the media from Morocco.
For its part, the Spanish NGO Caminando Fronteras, a specialist in migration between Africa and Spain, demanded, in a press release, issued on Saturday “the immediate opening of an independent judicial investigation on the Moroccan and Spanish side, as well as on the international level to shed light on this human tragedy”.
For his part, Eduardo de Castro, the president (mayor) of Melilla and the highest political authority of this autonomous city, denounced a “disproportionate response” from Morocco to the attempted passage of migrants.
“Morocco allows itself certain things that would not be acceptable” in Spain, he said.
In a statement released late Friday, Amnesty International expressed its “deep concern” over the events at the border.
The International Organization for Migration and UN refugee agency UNHCR also weighed in with a statement that expressed “profound sadness and concern” over what happened at the Morocco-Melilla border.
