Gibraltarians Furious At British Let-Down

by Ulrika Lomas, Tax-News.com, Brussels

04 October 2001

Today will see a large proportion of the population of Gibraltar taking part in a demonstration against what is seen on the Rock as being Britain's abandonment of the Rock in its fight to remain independent of Spain, as evidenced by the exclusion of Gibraltar from the single European airspace, and Britain's decision to go ahead with bilateral talks with Spain on the issue of sovereignty. . Government and opposition members of the parliament have issued the following DECLARATION OF UNITY:

Gibraltar Demonstration - Thursday 4 October 2001
We, the undersigned, being all the elected Members of the House of Assembly of Gibraltar, declare and endorse the following propositions, which unite and reflect the views of the overwhelming majority of the people of Gibraltar,

1. The people of Gibraltar will never, ever, compromise or give up our inalienable right to self-determination, that is, the right to decide our future in our land.

2. The people of Gibraltar will never compromise or give up our sovereignty, not for good relations with anybody and not for economic benefits either.

3. The people of Gibraltar will not compromise our right to self-determination, still less sovereignty, in exchange for respect for rights which are ours anyway, and which others should be made to respect unconditionally.

AND WE

a. CALL UPON Her Majesty's Government to honour, respect and uphold our EU rights by ensuring that we participate in all EC and EU measures in the same manner and to the same extent as all other citizens and territories of the European Union AND WE CONDEMN Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom for capitulating under pressure to the suspension of Gibraltar from the EU Single Skies measures, and the Government of the Kingdom of Spain for demanding it.

b. REAFFIRM that Gibraltar wants good, neighbourly, European relations with Spain based on reasonable dialogue and mutual respect. Spain is obliged to respect our EU and other rights.

c. ASSERT that Gibraltar belongs to the people of Gibraltar and is neither Spain's to claim, nor Britain's to give away.

Local pressure group the Voice of Gibraltar has issued the following statement:

The recent visit to Gibraltar by Peter Hain, Minister for Europe, has left an unpalatable taste in the political senses of the fiercely British Gibraltarians. Whilst in Gibraltar, Mr Hain made it clear that rather than being receptive to the fears and views of the people of Gibraltar, he and the government he represents would try every which way, to impose the designs of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office upon the Gibraltarians, a people whose suspicion of Britain's goals have increased over the years. In the wake of Hain´s departure from his bumpy visit to the Rock, Chief Minister Peter Caruana, was informed that Gibraltar had been excluded from the European Single Sky Measures. Inclusion in these measures was always perceived in Gibraltar as fundamental to Gibraltar's undisputed inclusion in the EU, which she joined with the United Kingdom in 1973 under Article 227 of the treaty of Rome "as a European Territory for whose external affairs a Member State is responsible". The Gibraltarians suspicion that the British Government would capitulate to Spain's request, proved correct. As a result of Gibraltar's exclusion from the said measures, the Rock now finds itself in the absurd state of being within the European Union, except for its airspace! Hain´s patronising and threatening attitude whilst in Gibraltar was ill received by the Gibraltarians who have the right to expect political maturity from Britain's politicians. His statement, among others, that the people of Gibraltar "will either change or be left behind" was clearly seen by the Gibraltarians as another attempt by the British Government at watering the right of the people of Gibraltar to self determination.

Gibraltarians feel particularly aggrieved at being excluded from potentially beneficial EU measures especially, as over many years pressure has been applied by the Foreign Office for Gibraltar to pass EU legislation, some of
which has been clearly detrimental to Gibraltar, particularly, to the Financial Services sector of the local economy. The Foreign Office has always tried to impress upon Gibraltar´s politicians the importance of being seen to be in the lead in the adoption of legislation, even legislation which has proven to be economically detrimental, or legislation which has caused Gibraltar economic upheaval. On the other hand, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office has capitulated in the face of Spanish pressure to exclude Gibraltar from EU measures potentially beneficial to Gibraltar´s economy. Gibraltarians have come to expect Spain´s "Euro Trap" carved specifically for Gibraltar and spearheaded by her strategy of forcing Gibraltarians to give up their rights by trying to damage Gibraltar´s
economy and eliciting results from the Gibraltarians through undemocratic and outdated means. What is simply not acceptable is for the Foreign Office, which has overall responsibility for Gibraltar´s external welfare, to be openly in collusion with Spain and hence embark upon a path of open collision with Gibraltar by failing to resist Spain´s clear economic war of attrition against Gibraltar.

With the exclusion of Gibraltar from the European Single Sky Measures and the Foreign Office´s sheer fiasco in defending the rights of the Gibraltarians, these have seen the words of former Foreign Minister Roy Hattersely, "their future lies with Spain" conjured in front of an angry and frustrated people. The phrases "Our EU Rights", "Our Right to Self Determination" and "Our British Sovereignty" have come to underpin the demonstration to be held on
Thursday the 4th October at 17.30CET in Gibraltar´s Main Square. The demonstration is to be led by all the members of the Government of Gibraltar and the Opposition in the Gibraltar Legislature. These will have previously signed a declaration of unity at a special sitting of the Legislature. The declaration will be handed to a representative of the Foreign Office for delivery to Prime Minister Blair. Copies of the declaration will be sent to the Secretary General of the United Nations, the European Parliament and the Spanish Prime Minister with the sole aim in mind of ensuring that the aspirations of the people of Gibraltar reaches all those who have traditionally turned a deaf ear to the political and constitutional evolution of the people of Gibraltar leading to full right of self determination.

Given the public anger, which has been aroused by Hain´s visit and his repetition of flogged Foreign Office mantras, local and international political observers expect this demonstration to be massively attended expressing the widest possible support from all sectors of Gibraltar´s population.

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