Government makes no move to remove razor wire on Melilla fence

The Interior Ministry sent Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy “an extensive” technical report on the razor wire being installed atop the border fence separating Moroccan territory from the Spanish exclave of Melilla.

The report notes the physical characteristics of the blades, their ability to inflict damage, and their use by various countries, but provides no assessment as to whether they should be removed, as demanded by social organizations and the entirety of the opposition parties in Congress.

Rajoy’s Popular Party (PP) government decided to use the razor wire as a deterrent following numerous attempts by would-be immigrants to jump the fence this year.

The government plans to replace “exactly the same” razor wire fence that was set up in 2005 and removed two years later by the Socialist government.

Socialist leader Alfredo Pérez Rubalcaba, who was interior minister at the time, urged Rajoy to change his mind. “The blades cut. There is no need for any reports; they can use the experience of previous ministers. It is an inhumane security system. He should call me on the phone today and I will tell him for free.”