The president of the Government of the Canary Islands, Fernando Clavijo, has advanced this Monday that this Tuesday he will defend before the interministerial commission a document of eight points with “concrete measures,” agreed upon by all the groups of the autonomous Parliament within the “Canarian Pact for Migration,” in order to deal with the migration crisis that the island of El Hierro is experiencing.
At the press conference after the Council of Government, he specified that the text includes eight requests, among them the launch of a stable coordination mechanism that allows “weekly monitoring,” the push for an “urgent” diplomatic action in the countries of origin, with special attention to Senegal, and the approval of a contingency plan with specific resources for the archipelago. That plan would include reinforcing the bodies and security forces of the State, increasing resources for Maritime Rescue, and having Cruz Roja assume healthcare at the port of La Restinga and at the CATE in San Andrés.
He also pointed out that the Canary Islands must be included in the solidarity mechanism of the European migration pact, that Frontex be deployed in Canary waters as a “lifesaver,” that the archipelago be recognized as the “southern border” within the European framework for responding to the emergency, and that a “modification” be made to the organic law of the judiciary power to correct the “legal loopholes” that arise when crimes are committed in international waters and the individuals responsible “are not prosecuted.”
Clavijo also called for a “package of emergency measures” specific to El Hierro, especially for La Restinga, where fishing activity is “almost impossible” and the diving sector has gone from eleven centers to four, with the resulting “impact” on hospitality and catering, in addition to “what the local population of El Hierro itself has to bear.”
The president described the situation as one of “extreme seriousness” and highlighted the “broad-mindedness” of all the parliamentary groups— with the only exception of Vox— which, in his view, shows that in the Canary Islands “things are done differently.”
He emphasized that the public demands “answers and unity” and that this is the “mandate” with which he goes this Tuesday to the interministerial meeting, insisting that “the president is not going to be there sitting alone, but the entire Canary society.”
Clavijo has underlined that “specific answers” are needed because “the time for speeches and promises has ended,” recalling that since May they have been warning about what was going to happen with the entry into force of the new European pact on migration and asylum and that, after the “assault” on Ceuta, “the Atlantic route was going to be reopened,” a scenario that, he has said, was even anticipated by intelligence services without it being passed on to the Executive.
In this context, he has reiterated the urgency of adopting “solutions and responses in the very short term,” warning that “tension” is already being perceived and that “security” for both the personnel of the services and the migrants themselves is being put at stake. After that, he added, it will be necessary to move forward in a second phase with “mid-term measures” because the arrival of migrant people “will continue over time.”
The head of the Canary Islands Executive believes that there are four “immediate” actions that depend on the “political will” of the central Government: strengthening the security forces, increasing the resources of the lifeguards, contracting healthcare services with the Red Cross, and enabling funds to “compensate” the population of El Hierro.
“They called us alarmists” and failure of cooperation
“We have been asking for it for months, but the Government of the Canary Islands hasn’t been listened to; they called us alarmists,” he said.
The president has verified that the “cooperation and development” policy has failed, both on the part of Spain and the EU, and has expressed his wish for the Minister of the Interior, Fernando Grande-Marlaska, and the Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares, to intensify their contacts with Senegal.
“We need resources and means to manage this failure; it isn’t fair that the Canary Islands has to face it alone,” he said, recalling that they have been in this “battle” for “more than three years,” which even led the Supreme Court to force the State to assume responsibility for the care of minor asylum applicants.
He has reiterated that it is essential to find “immediate solutions to ease the situation in El Hierro.” “This can’t continue like this,” he added.
Clavijo has criticized that the central Government “came late,” but he has stressed that there is still room for action and that “20 days for El Hierro is a lot of time to do many things,” referring to the fact that on other occasions law decrees have been approved “in minutes.”
He has added that, even after the Elections, the Executive will remain in office until January, so there is "no kind of excuse" to adopt "palliative measures" in favor of El Hierro.
"We are demanding that they give answers; with that mandate I will do so tomorrow, we want them to give us an answer, and if necessary, they will have to answer to the courts," he warned, stressing that he does not intend to "do politics and populism," but that, although Canary Islands is a migrant and "hospitable" people, it will not allow them to put the "sole of the foot up" on it.