By Daisy Ayliffe - 11th October 2005
Immigrants seeking to scale Spanish razor wire fences to gain entry into Europe are not criminals, African Union leader Alpha Konaré has told the EU.
The AU leader told the European Commission on Wednesday that the EU must not build prison fences around Africa.
His comments, as Brussels unveils a new strategy for Africa, come after 14 migrants have been killed in the last two weeks attempting to enter Spanish territories in North Africa
“Young people are taking on huge barbed wire fences – we need to understand why. These Africans are not delinquents, they are expressing a demand for solidarity,” Konaré declared.
The African leader criticised the European press for painting a one-sided and unfair picture of the human rights crisis.
“The press has a duty to explain why immigrants behave in the way they do. This question is not addressed, instead the whole of Africa is called into question.”
The pressing humanitarian problems at Europe’s southern borders have heightened calls for effective implementation of the EU’s strategy for Africa.
Sub-Saharan immigrants have been killed while trying to break into Spain’s North African Ceuta and Melilla enclaves, some of them shot by Moroccan security forces.
Morocco has also come under fire for abandoning hundreds of migrants in the Sahara desert.
The plight of immigrants besieging ‘fortress Europe’ has also been highlighted in the European Parliament.
"Tony Blair was right when he drew attention to Africa,” Enrique Baron, leader of Spain's Socialist MEPs declared on Wednesday.
“But this drama is of biblical proportions. Nobody can say at this moment how many people are in this situation, crossing the Sahara on foot."
European Commission President, José Manuel Barroso agreed that African immigrants needed help, but he said the solutions would require profound political change.
“We need to look at the structural reasons forcing people to migrate in this way,” Barroso declared.
“We have seen this situation coming. Now we are seeing the effects and we must act.”
Barroso promised that Europe would fulfil UN millennium development goals but said much more needed to be done.
“It’s not just a question of values, of generosity and solidarity, it is in our interest. We need to tackle the structural deep roots of underdevelopment in Africa.”
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