MADRID, Spain – Thousands of people, 180,000 according to organisers and 20,000 according to the Government Delegation, took part on Saturday in Madrid in the second March for Dignity, convened by Sociedad Civil Española, to denounce the handling of the Ceuta crisis and protest against Pedro Sánchez’s government, in a mass demonstration also attended by Vox leader Santiago Abascal and PP leaders headed by secretary general Miguel Tellado.
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The protest, under the slogan For the Dignity of Spain, set off shortly after 10am from Plaza de Cibeles in the capital to conclude in front of the Arch of Victory past 1pm. The march passed without incidents and under a strong police presence, with slogans in favour of Ceuta, calling for Sánchez to leave power and for general elections to be held in the face of what they call systematic rot. Among the chants heard during the protest were Sánchez to prison, Ceuta hold on, Spain is not for sale and Sánchez traitor, defend the nation.
PP secretary general Miguel Tellado said in remarks to the media from the demonstration that it is certainly regrettable that Spanish society has to take to the streets to ask the government of Spain to defend our territorial integrity. For Tellado, there is a common feeling that the executive has not acted responsibly in Ceuta because it knew what was going to happen and did not act, crossing its arms and letting Spain’s borders be crossed by a human tide of 80,000 invaders, adding that there is clear negligence and evident responsibility, and the government cannot evade its responsibilities.
Abascal, for his part, stated that the government has done nothing since the entry of migrants at the end of July to fix the situation in Ceuta beyond telling its inhabitants that they have to get used to a structural reality. In this context, he proclaimed his distrust of any of the actions of an executive that, in his view, obeys the interests of Morocco, adding that they do not know how long the situation will last but that they do know there are increasingly more problems in Ceuta, after again accusing the government of continuing to promote the migratory invasion.
The march’s manifesto, which it was decided not to read in the end, focused on the Ceuta crisis, demanding the militarisation of the autonomous city and the expulsion to Morocco of the totality of the invaders. In the statement, the conveners urge the holding of immediate elections and guarantees that they will be clean and that there will be no adulteration of the census, amid the growing suspicion that the government is preparing an electoral fraud through twisted manoeuvres, in reference to naturalisations under the so-called Grandchildren’s Law.
Given the worsening of the situation, they say, they have once again called on civil society for a second time to defend in the streets the unity and territorial integrity of Spain, the neutrality of institutions and the defence of our nation, among other things. Thirdly, they advocate the initiation without further delay in Congress of the procedure provided for in article 102 of the Constitution to try the prime minister for treason and for an attack against state security, a request that Vox has been making in recent weeks following the Ceuta crisis but that the PP has so far rejected, referring to the judicial proceedings opened at the National High Court.
In this sense, Tellado defended that the manifesto is the one agreed by the different civil society entities and recalled that there are currently proceedings open at the National High Court, in whose action they trust, adding that they support this call that has brought them here from different Spanish civil society entities, that the manifesto is theirs, but that they stand with them. The conveners, Sociedad Civil Española, raised the attendance figure given by the Government Delegation to some 180,000 demonstrators, with the demonstration passing peacefully and under a strong police operation, ending at the Arch of Victory in Moncloa.
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The conveners consider in their manifesto that the people of Ceuta and also those of Melilla need forceful and urgent answers, adding that they give a valuable example every day fighting for their land and their families with dignity and courage, and announcing that a visit to Ceuta is being organised to testify directly their admiration and support in these difficult days. Tellado declined to back the activation of article 102 of the Constitution to try Sánchez for treason for failing to prevent the mass entry of immigrants into Ceuta last July, referring to the criminal case being investigated by Judge María Tardón at the National High Court, insisting that the government cannot evade responsibilities because, in his view, it incurred clear negligence, but at all times referring to the judicial investigation already opened. Digital Transformation Minister and Madrid socialist secretary general Óscar López criticised the presence of PP leaders at the march, saying they will never be seen at demonstrations on housing or education but rather at far-right demonstrations that only serve to insult, adding that this is what the PP has come to, attending demonstrations convened by ultras. Throughout the demonstration many Spanish flags were seen as well as signs vindicating the Spanish identity of Ceuta and Melilla.
