A Stab in the Back
Straw plans joint sovereignty deal for Gibraltar

13^th July 2002

LONDON - The government has taken a symbolic step towards resolving a 300-year-old dispute over Gibraltar by announcing it will share sovereignty with Spain, but the idea has been rejected by the colony's leader.

"There is more chance of Hell freezing over than the people of Gibraltar ever voting in favour of joint sovereignty with Spain," said Chief Minister Peter Caruana.

In an effort to edge closer to a deal, Foreign Secretary Jack Straw announced the scheme in parliament on Friday as a possible way of ending the ancient dispute over the rocky outcrop on Spain's southern coast.

After 12 months of talks, some broad principles had been agreed, he said. "These include that Britain and Spain should share sovereignty over Gibraltar."

But the move, whilst a significant statement by the government, is unlikely to help the two sides overcome long- standing sticking points.

Diplomats say Spain and Britain agreed in principle to share sovereignty some time ago, but that talks had become bogged down over how long this should last.

Britain wants any deal reached to be a final solution but Spain has repeatedly said it will not give up its claim to ownership of the rock and opposes any referendum by Gibraltarians, fearing it will set a dangerous precedent for restive Spanish regions such as the Basque country.

Britain for its part has set out its own "red line" beyond which it will not budge -- insisting it will retain control of Gibraltar's military base, a convenient stop for its submarines.

SPANIARDS UNCONVINCED

In Madrid, a Spanish Foreign Ministry spokesman said of the plan: "We consider it positive news."

But Spaniards on the streets of the city said it could never settle the dispute.

"It's not a solution. A country can't be two countries at once," said Jesus Polo, a 24-year-old student.

Alvaro Baon, a banker, said: "It's fine as a step to Spanish sovereignty", echoing Madrid's line that it will never give up its claim to full sovereignty over the colony.

Straw's statement sparked outrage on all sides, with members of his own Labour Party, opposition Conservatives and Gibraltarians all slamming the idea.

Conservative foreign affairs spokesman Michael Ancram said it was "a disgrace", while a former Labour minister, Gerald Kaufman, said the idea was a "sell-out" and told Straw: "I never thought the day would come when you would make a statement practically every word of which I disagree with."

Gibraltar's Caruana, speaking on Sky Television, said the agreement made a mockery of sovereignty itself and asked: "If sovereignty means anything at all, how can you possibly share it with anybody?"

Spain had postponed talks due to be held on Friday in Madrid on Gibraltar after a cabinet reshuffle in which former Foreign Minister Josep Pique was demoted and replaced by Ana Palacio.

Straw said Palacio had asked for the talks to be put off until "after the summer" but gave no firm date.

But he insisted that in the 12 months of talks so far, the two governments had come closer than ever to accord.

Broad agreement had been reached, he said, on the principles that Gibraltar should have more self government, keep British traditions and its citizens should retain the right to British nationality as well as gaining the right to Spanish nationality.

He stressed that any decision would rest with Gibraltar's 30,000 people, who would vote in a referendum if London and Madrid reached a deal.

"Unless we and Spain can resolve the outstanding issues, plainly there will be no agreement," he said.

But without a sea change in the attitude of the Gibraltarians, a referendum would be expected to reject any change of status.

Caruana earlier this year to the long memories of his people: "The overwhelming majority of Gibraltarians bear deeply and reasonably held grievances about the behaviour to which they have historically been subjected by Spain."