[A-List] UK state: Gibraltar shenanigans

["Michael Keaney" <michael.keaney@xxxxxx>]

A plague on all their houses. However, we ought to be supporting the British
government's efforts to let go of Gibraltar, despite the opposition of
British "leftists" like Mark Seddon (ok, a genuine leftist), Bill Morris (on
some issues, yes) and Gerald Kaufman (you must be joking).


Spanish ultimatum on Gibraltar

Giles Tremlett in Madrid
Wednesday November 6, 2002
The Guardian

The Spanish government has issued an "all or nothing" ultimatum to Britain
over Gibraltar, saying that a plan to share sovereignty over the Rock must
either be agreed on or shelved at the next meeting between Jack Straw, the
foreign secretary, and his counterpart Ana Palacio.

A foreign ministry source in Madrid said Ms Palacio had decided the next
meeting on Gibraltar with Mr Straw would have to come up with a "black or
white" decision.

The ultimatum from the Spanish foreign ministry came several months after
Britain and Spain missed the deadline first set for an agreement - which
both sides had hoped to sign this summer.

It also came as Gibraltarians were preparing to vote in a referendum called
by their chief minister, Peter Caruana, tomorrow. They were expected to
overwhelmingly reject any co-sovereignty deal with Spain.

A spokesman for Ms Palacio said yesterday that lower level meetings designed
to hammer out the small print of the agreement would continue between the
two negotiating teams: "There are still many small details to be sorted
out."

But he would not comment on the three main sticking points that continue to
separate Britain and Spain.

These include the duration of the agreement, which Britain wants to be
permanent, and the future of the Rock's naval base, which Britain wants to
control.

The third main problem is the British promise to put any agreement with
Spain to a binding referendum in Gibraltar. Spain, which wants to stall
separatist moves in the Basque country, has insisted that it should not be
seen as a self-determination vote.

Senior Spanish officials said yesterday that even if the talks collapsed in
the coming weeks or months they had helped bring both sides closer and would
make it easier to seek a definitive solution in the future.

Officials said the referendum called by Mr Caruana, who has appointed a team
of observers led by Labour MP Gerald Kaufman, was "illegal and irrelevant".
"There is no value [in a referendum] on a hypothetical agreement between
Spain and Britain," Ms Palacio said.

Although Tony Blair told reporters this week that the people of Gibraltar
were "entirely entitled to say whatever they want to say", the British
government has also said the poll has no legal status.

Officials organising the vote in Gibraltar yesterday welcomed the support
from Mr Kaufman and others on the British left. "Mr Kaufman is a great
signing for us because he is from the party that wants to sell us out,"
Dennis Reyes, the referendum's administrator, told Spain's El Mundo
newspaper.

The Gibraltar government is flying out 12 MPs, plus 16 other British
"observers", including Labour national executive committee member Mark
Seddon.

Bill Morris, general secretary of the Transport and General Workers Union,
said he would also go to Gibraltar to show his support for the No vote.