FOR STORY - EUROPE'S TRAVELING PARLIAMENT - Germany's Member of the European Parliament Alexander Alvaro, packs his documents, at the European Parliament building, in Brussels, on Friday, Feb. 1, 2013, ready to move to Strasbourg. The EU set up two parliaments, one at headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, and the other in Strasbourg, France, so in a whirl of trunks, trolleys and backpacks, hundreds of European Union parliamentarians and their staff move some 350-kilometer (220-mile) across the continent for four days of meetings, at an annual cost of about euro 1.3 billion (US dlrs 1.8 billion). (AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert)
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FOR STORY - EUROPE'S TRAVELING PARLIAMENT - Germany's Member of the European Parliament Alexander Alvaro, packs his documents, at the European Parliament building, in Brussels, on Friday, Feb. 1, 2013, ready to move to Strasbourg. The EU set up two parliaments, one at headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, and the other in Strasbourg, France, so in a whirl of trunks, trolleys and backpacks, hundreds of European Union parliamentarians and their staff move some 350-kilometer (220-mile) across the continent for four days of meetings, at an annual cost of about euro 1.3 billion (US dlrs 1.8 billion). (AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert)
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FOR STORY - EUROPE'S TRAVELING PARLIAMENT - Workmen load boxes onto a truck outside the European Parliament building, in Brussels on Friday, Feb. 1, 2013, ready for transportation to Strasbourg in France. The EU set up two parliaments, one at headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, and the other in Strasbourg, France, so in a whirl of trunks, trolleys and backpacks, hundreds of European Union parliamentarians and their staff move some 350-kilometer (220-mile) across the continent for four days of meetings, at an annual cost of about euro 1.3 billion (US dlrs 1.8 billion). (AP Photo/Thierry Charlier)
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FOR STORY - EUROPE'S TRAVELING PARLIAMENT - Boxes belonging to various MEPs wait to be loaded on trucks for transportation from the European Parliament building in Brussels to Strasbourg in France, on Friday, Feb. 1, 2013. The EU set up two parliaments, one at headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, and the other in Strasbourg, France, so in a whirl of trunks, trolleys and backpacks, hundreds of European Union parliamentarians and their staff move some 350-kilometer (220-mile) across the continent for four days of meetings, at an annual cost of about euro 1.3 billion (US dlrs 1.8 billion). (AP Photo/Thierry Charlier)
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FOR STORY - EUROPE'S TRAVELING PARLIAMENT - Germany's Member of the European Parliament Alexander Alvaro, packs his documents, at his desk in the European Parliament building, in Brussels, on Friday, Feb. 1, 2013, ready to move to Strasbourg. The EU set up two parliaments, one at headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, and the other in Strasbourg, France, so in a whirl of trunks, trolleys and backpacks, hundreds of European Union parliamentarians and their staff move some 350-kilometer (220-mile) across the continent for four days of meetings, at an annual cost of about euro 1.3 billion (US dlrs 1.8 billion). (AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert)
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French president Francois Hollande delivers his speech at the European Parliament Tuesday, Feb. 5, 2013 in Strasbourg, eastern France. French President Francois Hollande warns of a tough European Union summit later this week if countries including Britain continue to demand drastic cuts to the EU budget while refusing to make concessions themselves. (AP Photo/Christian Lutz)
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French President Francois Hollande, center, is welcomed by members the socialist group at the European Parliament, Tuesday Feb 5, 2013, in Strasbourg, eastern France. Hollande warns of a tough European Union summit later this week if countries including Britain continue to demand drastic cuts to the EU budget while refusing to make concessions themselves. (AP Photo/Christian Lutz, POOL)
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People queue to enter on an unemployment office, in Madrid, Monday, Feb. 4, 2013. Labor Ministry figures released Monday showed the registered jobless figure surged by 132,055 in January to 4.98 million. Spain is struggling to emerge from its second recession in just over three years.The country's unemployment rate was at 26 percent at the end of the fourth quarter, up 1 percent from the previous three-month period.(AP Photo/Daniel Ochoa de Olza)
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Goodyear employees scuffle with riot policemen during a demonstration against layoffs, in front of Goodyear headquarters in Rueil Malmaison, west of Paris, Thursday March 7, 2013. France has yet to hit bottom. The unemployment rate in Europe's second-largest economy rose again in the last quarter of last year to 10.6 percent, putting new pressure on President Francois Hollande's rollout a controversial labor-market reforms.(AP Photo/Remy de la Mauviniere)
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Britain's Prime Minister David Cameron leaves his official residence at 10 Downing Street in central London, on his way to the Houses of Parliament to address lawmakers, Wednesday, Jan. 16, 2013. (AP Photo/Lefteris Pitarakis)
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European Council President Herman Van Rompuy, right, welcomes Finland's Prime Minister Jyrki Katainen, at the European Council building in Brussels, Wednesday, Jan. 16, 2013. (AP Photo/Yves Logghe)
Morocco refuses entry to EU lawmakers
BRUSSELS (
AP) — Four members of the
European Parliament, on their way to study human rights in Western Sahara, have been denied entry to Morocco.
They were headed for Laayoune, a city in a part of mineral-rich Western Sahara annexed by Morocco in 1975. The legislators had announced their plans in a letter to the Moroccan ambassador to the European Union on Feb. 25.
The ambassador's reply, dated March 5, arrived while the parliamentarians were already in transit, the leader of the delegation said Thursday. The ambassador's letter said the members of Parliament held "excessive politicized views against the interests of Morocco." It went on to say that Morocco did not expect the visit could "provide an objective, credible report," and the visit would not be welcomed.
Ivo Vajgl, of Slovenia, the leader of the delegation, said the four landed Wednesday in Casablanca, where they were met by local police, refused entry and put back on their planes.
"It was humiliating," Vajgl said. "It was absolutely unacceptable. It was a demonstration of totalitarian disregard of decency and democratic standards."
He objected strongly to the ambassador's letter and called for him to be banned from the European Parliament. He said the aim of the visit had been to meet with representatives of civil society and with local Moroccan authorities, as well.
European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso visited Morocco on March 1-2. Following meetings with Moroccan officials, Barroso praised the political, economic and social reforms the country had made. He added that relations between the North African country and the EU were excellent and would soon develop further with the negotiation of a free-trade agreement.
A spokeswoman for Barroso had no immediate comment Thursday on the expulsions.
The Moroccan Interior Ministry, Foreign Ministry and Communications Ministry did not respond to requests for comment on the incident.
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Don Melvin can be reached at http://twitter.com/Don_Melvin
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