Gibraltar Government Hits Back Following Hain Comments

by Caroline Maxwell, Tax-News.com, London

11 March 2002

The Government of Gibraltar issued a statement last week condemning remarks made by UK Foreign Office Minister Peter Hain during a BBC Northern Ireland interview.

The Gibraltarian authorities accused Mr Hain of failing to give people in the United Kingdom the full picture, and dismissed his comments as 'incomplete'.

'Mr Hain said that he could not see why we were complaining because there would be a referendum in which we could take or leave any agreement,' observed the Government. 'But he did not say, as he never says to the British public, that the FCO's intention is that a declaration or agreement of principles would be entered into by the UK and Spain, including the question of sovereignty, and that this would survive a referendum.'

The Rock's leaders also disputed Mr Hain's 'empty chair' charge, arguing that under the terms of the talks, Chief Minister Peter Caruana could 'put his point of view', but that this would be ignored by the UK and Spain, who are determined to come to a joint sovereignty agreement.

'If they agree principles of sovereignty and other things contrary to the 'views that we express', these arguments remain on the table to our prejudice even if we reject the implementation details in a referendum', the Gibraltarian Government argued.

The statement ended by concluding that Mr Hain's assertion that the majority of Gibraltar's population do not understand why the Chief Minister is boycotting the Anglo-Spanish talks was 'an extraordinary statement and difficult to reconcile with the facts as known to Mr Hain and the Foreign Office'. It suggested that after the mass demonstration planned for March 18, the UK Foreign Office Minister would see the extent of support for the Government's position.

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