51³Ô¹ÏÍø

ITN Reporting 66: Morocco: Spanish Foreign Legion Outposts; SPAIN / MOROCCO: Ceuta: EXTFranco's Spanish foreign legion troops on parade, singing and marching with flagsTroops jogging along together to military band musicAIR VIEW Ceuta seen from planeCeuta seen from above / Spanish flag / Portuguese coat of arms on old fortress walls / Exterior walls of old fortress Soldier on patrol / cars along from ferry and crossing border into Morocco . Spain has no access rights by land to her North African settlements, and therefore Ceuta depends on the ferry as her only lifeline. Even drinking water has to be brought over from the mainland. Without the subsidies of the Spanish tax-payer, Ceuta would die. Port life is dying, becuase Ceuta is cut off from the interior, and even fishermen are restricted, because of Morocco's extension of territorial waters, from 3 to 12 miles. 10 years ago, Ceuta had a railway to the interior, now it is rusting and derelict. It ran to Tetuan, the capital of the former Spanish colony. Once Tetuan became part of Morocco, the Moroccans cut the line. For Moroccans, the economic boycott of Ceuta is a double-edged sword. If they want to go abroad they can't leave from Ceuta - they have to sail from other ports. On the other hand, Morocco can't afford to stop tourists coming in, so it welcomes spending visitors, whether they arrive by Ceuta, or the rival port, Tangiers. The boycott hits Moroccan export firms, too - they can't ship their goods from Ceuta, and only small-time Arab traders slip through the border, to trade with the Spanish garrison. There is footage of Spanish para-military police keeping guard on the border with Morocco, in the same forts where their ancestors once repulsed raiding tribesmen. Now they are keeping up a pretence of activity on the forts that once spelt Spanish power and prestige. 100 years ago, the Spaniards, moving inland from their coastal settlements, conquered this mountainous area, and built...