Gibraltar's chief minister Fabian Picardo: a spokesperson from the island's government told MSN UK that the rule of law 'cannot be taken for granted' in Spain.......
As the diplomatic row over Gibraltar continues, the peninsula's government has launched a stinging attack on its Spanish neighbours, stating that the rule of law 'cannot be taken for granted' in Spain.
In an op-ed written exclusively for MSN, a spokesperson for the Government of Gibraltar also argued that Spanish complaints over the sovereignty of the British overseas territory were "hypocritical" given the country's own territories in north Africa.
The comments further escalate a row that has been ratcheted up in the past few weeks, with the enclave's chief politician, Fabian Picardo, even reporting that death threats were aimed at him via Twitter.
The British government recently threatened legal action against Spain over "politically-motivated" border controls that caused members of the public to encounter delays of several hours when crossing over.
The Gibraltar statement in full
Why on earth would Gibraltarians wish to become Spanish? Gibraltar has been British for over 300 years and so telling Gibraltarians to change their sovereignty would be like telling the British that they are about to become French – or like telling the Spanish that they are about to become Moroccan.
Talking of Morocco, Spain continues to hang on to its two Spanish towns, Ceuta and Melilla, in North Africa despite the fact that they are separated from Spain by the Mediterranean Sea and that they are surrounded by Morocco. Spain says that, as long as the people of Ceuta and Melilla wish to remain Spanish, then the two towns will stay Spanish. Hypocritical or what?
Gibraltar was only ever Spanish between 1462 and 1713 (before 1462 it was occupied by the Moors) so it has been British for longer than it was ever Spanish and in the Treaty of Utrecht, signed in 1713, Spain yielded Gibraltar to Great Britain “for ever, without any exception or impediment.’
We are accustomed to a British system of justice and the rule of law (something that cannot be taken for granted in Spain)
In more modern times, the United Nations has regularly stated that, in ex-colonies, there is no alternative to the principle of self-determination, which the UN says is ‘a fundamental human right'. Self-determination carries more weight than territorial integrity.
In other words, it is the people of an ex-colony who must have the deciding say on their political future.
The people of Gibraltar indicated their wish in a special referendum in 1967 when 99.64% voted to remain British and, in another referendum in 2002, 98.48% of the electorate expressed their desire to remain British.
We do things the British way; Spain does things in quite another way
In 2013, the people of Gibraltar continue to express this same wish to remain under British sovereignty. Gibraltar’s economy is growing at over 7% per year, Spain’s is in decline. Gibraltar has virtually zero unemployment, Spain has 26% unemployment. And, at a time when Spanish political leaders are being accused of corruption, there is even less reason for ever wanting to become Spanish.
We are accustomed to a British system of justice and the rule of law (something that cannot be taken for granted in Spain), British standards in public life, a British system of education, a British style civil service and all under the maximum possible level of self-government short of independence under our 2006 Constitution. Even forgetting the dismal economics of Spain today (that could, and we hope will, change), we do things the British way; Spain does things in quite another way.
We feel strongly patriotic of our British heritage. The town is always full of Union Flags and pictures of the Queen – we are more patriotic than most towns in UK. Every year we celebrate the Referendum on a special holiday when everyone dresses in red and white, the colours of the Gibraltarian flag.
As Winston Churchill said “Gibraltar will remain British as long as there are apes on the Rock”.
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