Cammell Laird (Gibraltar) have stated that they do not have any cross guarantees with it's holding company and is therefore not in receivership. They say that they intend to continue with business as usual. (12.04.01)

In a statement today, the Environmental Safety Group (ESG) has strongly attacked the decision by the Government of Gibraltar to give the go-ahead for the nuclear reactor of HMS Tireless to be started in Gibraltar. "We also think that the Gibraltar Government has not been forthright in its handling of this crisis and we would have welcomed a clear and open message from them from the very beginning, on the unacceptable risks being laid at Gibraltar’s door, irrespective of their ability to alter the MoD’s` decision," says a statement issued by the Group.(12.04.01)

 

The Foreign Affairs Select Committee of the House of Commons has recommended to the British Government that Spain be taken to court over the border delays and other Gibraltar related matters. In its sixth report published this afternoon, the all party committee tells the British Government that it would "expect the Government to ensure that Gibraltar fulfills its obligations under EU law, but above all, to uphold the rights of Gibraltar and Gibraltarians under the EU Treaties with the same determination and rigour as it would in any part of the United Kingdom." (11.04.01) 

SUMMARY OF CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 

(a) We recommend that the British Government give formal notice now to the Spanish Government that if border delays are not brought down significantly to a reasonable length by a specified date it will commence proceedings in the European Court of Justice under Article 227 (paragraph 7).

(b) We conclude that the Spanish Government is deliberately trying to curtail the development of Gibraltar as a commercial centre and that it is unacceptable that Spain’s inadequate allocation of telephone numbers to Gibraltar remains unresolved 5 years after it was put before the Commission in 1996. We recommend that the Government take a far firmer line with both the Spanish Government and the EU Commission on this issue. We further recommend that the Department examine the scope provided under EU Treaty legislation for the British Government to take this issue to the European Court of Justice and report its conclusions in its Response to this Report (paragraph 10).

(c) We recommend that the Department in its Response to this Report set out how it intends to ensure that the people of Gibraltar are enfranchised before the 2004 elections (paragraph 12).

(d) We recommend that the Government in its response to this Report sets out how it intends to achieve progress towards an agreement on Gibraltar Airport (paragraph 13).

(e) We recommend that the Department in its Response to this Report states whether the Spanish Government is co-operating fully and expeditiously with the intended introduction of the Single European Sky (paragraph 14).

(f) We recommend that the Department should have a firm policy of publicly rebutting factually inaccurate statements and unproven allegations made publicly by Spanish Ministers about Gibraltar, and we wish to be assured by the Department in its Response to this Report that such a policy will be followed (paragraph 18).

(g) We fully recognise that the present Government inherited a number of the problems over Gibraltar. However, we remain very concerned about the lack of progress on the enfranchisement of British citizens resident in Gibraltar and in resolving the disputes over border delays and telephone numbers. Gibraltar lies within the territorial area of the EU. We expect the Government to ensure that Gibraltar fulfills its obligations under EU law, but above all, to uphold the rights of Gibraltar and Gibraltarians under the EU Treaties with the same determination and rigour as it would in any part of the United Kingdom (paragraph 19).

 

As from the 12 to 22 of April, the Gibraltar leaders of the Duke of Edinburgh's award scheme will be playing host to a group of 15 Gold participants who will be carrying out their qualifying expedition in the Sierra de Grazalema. Participants will be travelling from Portugal, the United Kingdom, the Irish Republic and as far afield as Jordan. In a statement issued today, the Gibraltar Duke of Edinburgh's Award Scheme say that this is the first time that they host such an international event. (12.04.01)

UNA calls for referendum

The United Nations Association of Gibraltar has today called for a referendum on the question of Gibraltar having full representation at Westminster. This follows the presentation of a Bill in the House of Commons seeking to create such representation after a referendum in Gibraltar has taken place. "The UNA Gibraltar believe that it would be a great achievement to have Gibraltar's Chief Minister petition at the Bar of the House of Commons, and to also have a legitimate representative for Gibraltar, fighting our rights within the House of Commons, whenever the need arises," said the UNA.

Press release

ILF concern at reports of Ladbbrokes contraction

The ILF have expressed concern that Ladbroke's may be contracting their operations in Gibraltar adding that staff have been warned of job losses. In future, they say, we should all be more careful in predicting long-term benefits from companies coming to Gibraltar.

Press release
 

Government surprised at taxi association statements

The Gibraltar Government has reiterated that it will have no hesitation in re-introducing Regulation 118(d) if any breaches are carried out of the assurance given to them by the Gibraltar Taxi Association. In a statement, the Government says that it is surprised that the Taxi Association should not consider the action of taxi-drivers at the coach park on 22 March to be such a breach.

Government give go-ahead for Tireless start-up

The Gibraltar Government has given the go-ahead for the starting up of the reactor of HMS Tireless in Gibraltar. It has also agreed to a Spanish technician from the Consejo de Seguridad Nuclear to witness the hydro testing which will take place beforehand.
The nuclear submarine has been in Gibraltar since May 2000, after it was found that the fault in the cooling system of the nuclear reactor was more serious than originally thought.
In a statement today, the Government also advises that the option of starting the reactor at sea has been discounted on the grounds of operational impracticability and the additional risk to the submarine and crew.
The Gibraltar Government says that it has been advised by its panel of nuclear experts that "the nuclear risks posed by HMS Tireless when its reactor is started up and operated (over a proposed 9 day period) for final testing of the power and propulsion systems prior to Tireless's departure from Gibraltar, are considered by the panel to be no greater than those posed by a nuclear submarine on a recreational visit."
The proposed timescale envisages that HMS Tireless will leave Gibraltar in early May.
Statement 

Government threatens re-introduction of Regulation 118(d)

Following the incident at the Coach Terminal on 22 March 2001, when a group of taxis blocked a coach, in a statement today the Gibraltar Government has said that they are poised to re-introduce the controversial Regulation 118(d) should there be further incidents of this kind.
 

New ID cards questioned by Spanish police, say opposition.

In a press release issued today, the GSLP/Liberal opposition say that they have received complaints from members of the public whose new identity card have been rejected by the Spanish national police at the frontier. 

The Opposition says it is not aware whether these are isolated incidents, or if other Gibraltar residents have experienced problems when traveling to Spain or in the EU on the basis of their new identity card, and asks for anybody experiencing difficulty to contact them with the details, so that the scale of the problem can be assessed and a dossier can be compiled. Absolute confidentiality will be assured, they say.
 

Miss Gibraltar, extension of closing dates

The closing date for entries for this year's Miss Gibraltar contest has been extended. The pageant will take place on Saturday 7 July, says a statement by the Gibraltar Tourist Board. Prospective candidates should be between 17 and 24 and application forms are available from Duke of Kent House, Cathedral Square.
 

Nigerian dictator and the Gibraltar connection

Some of the most prestigious banks in the City of London are still holding up to £35 million allegedly looted from Nigeria by its former dictator, general Abacha and his associates, said to be part of a total £2.7 billion
to have left the country. Much of the money that entered Britain came from offshore companies, some of them in Gibraltar.
The revelation that offshore companies in Gibraltar have been allegedly involved in the scam will raise questions about the accountability and transparency of certain operations taking place in Gibraltar and through Gibraltar.
This is more so given that the official Gibraltar position is that the Rock is a respectable finance centre.
"Sources close to the investigation into one of the biggest and most systematic banking frauds in recent history have revealed for the first time the 15 banks (in UK) involved in laundering the money," the Sunday Times reported.
The money still held in London is described as a 'small fraction' of the estimated £2.7 billion spirited out of Nigeria during Abacha's years in power which ended in June 1998. And, in proportion, the part some offshore companies may have played, may be smaller still.

OFFSHORE COMPANIES

"Much of the looted money that entered Britain came from offshore companies, some based in Nigeria, the Bahamas, Gibraltar and, in particular, the British Virgin Islands," says the report.
The UK financial services authority, which has been investigating the role of British
banks, say there were clear flaws in their handling of the accounts, not only did they rely too much on introductions by existing customers also failed to report any suspicions.
It adds that even though many of the offshore companies were unknown to the banks, they accepted huge deposits. Once accounts had been set up, the money was transferred around European banking centres in a further effort to disguise its origin. The report speaks of banks being "simply presented with bagsful of cash."
In Gibraltar, there are banks who have recently decided to tighten up their operations.
The Abacha case is certain to fuel the plans by the big countries, as represented in the OECD, to urge that what they term "harmful taxes" be done away with.
Gibraltar, as is well known, is one of the 30-plus territories on a 'black list', with the threat of economic sanctions if the Gibraltar government does not comply with what the OECD wants.
In London today, representatives from the governments of Gibraltar, Guernsey and Jersey are discussing matters concerning the OECD threat. The chief minister Peter Caruana heads the Gibraltar delegation, which includes finance centre director James Tipping.
 

Cocaine haul on Gibraltar-registered ship

  British Customs officials helped Spanish police with the pre-dawn raid on the Gibraltar-registered ship Barthon Queen, which was carrying more than three tons of cocaine with an estimated street value of UK£122 million, said British customs officials who added that much of the consignment could eventually have found its way into Britain.
  The ship was about 2,400 miles south of the Canary Islands and 11 miles from the coast of the African nation of Togo.
  Seven people, including four from Chile and one each from Portugal, the Netherlands and France, were arrested.
  UK customs said:"The Spanish had to get our permission to board the ship, as it was in international waters and officially UK registered.
Spain is the drugs gateway to Europe from South America and a lot of these drugs could have ended up in Britain."
  Customs had been watching the vessel when it docked in Gibraltar late last year.The ship then sailed to an unspecified place in the southern Atlantic to pick up the cocaine, which came from Colombia, Spanish customs said.(08.04.01)

Schofield asks for inquiry in hanging case

  Lawyers for convicted killer Mariette Bosch, who was executed in Botswana last Saturday, called for an independent commission of inquiry into the circumstances surrounding her hanging. 
  Legal consultant Anne Schofield, wife of the chief justice of Gibraltar, said the hanging was carried out before all legal representations supporting a plea for clemency had been made. 
"The callous and indecent haste of this execution requires investigation," she said in a statement issued from Gibraltar. 
"We call for the appointment of an independent commission of inquiry to investigate whether the proper procedures under the Constitution, other laws of Botswana and Botswana's treaty obligations were followed. 
  Bosch, a South African citizen, was hanged for killing her friend Maria Wolmarans. (08.04.01)

Spanish question Madrid's hardline policy against Gibraltar

  A well-known Spanish pacifist, Gonzalo Arias, calls for a Gibraltarian Gibraltar and questions the Spanish government's hardline tactics against Gibraltar. He does so in a new website he has created which is devoted exclusively to his ideas on Gibraltar.

  Arias became well-known in the years when the Spanish frontier with Gibraltar was fully closed. In the 1970s he advocated strongly for an open frontier and tried to highlight the futility of Madrid's policy by climbing over the closed frontier gate into Spain, where he was duly arrested.

  In a section devoted to a 'Gibraltarian Gibraltar' he reproduces an article he wrote in PANORAMA in 1982.

  The Treaty of Utrecht? No thanks, he says. He then goes on to say that it should be clear that when it is said that the Treaty is still valid in effect the reference is only to article 10, the one about Gibraltar.  Article 11, for example, where Spain also ceded Menorca to Britain is deemed to be no longer relevant.

  He has written twice to the Spanish prime minister Jose Marian Aznar urging that the hardline tactics against Gibraltar be reviewed. He has drafted a motion that should be put before the Spanish parliament. It makes reference to the development of a people in Gibraltar with their own identity. 

  Arias speaks of increasing support in the Spanish hinterland to a policy of friendship with the Gibraltarians. A Spanish Gibraltar against the will of the Gibraltarians would be a source of conflict, which could end up being bloody.

  He tells Aznar: Official Spanish policy over Gibraltar is increasingly divorced from the general feelings in the Campo area, the Spanish neighbouring zone to Gibraltar. (Site: www.gonzaloarias.f2s.com) (07.04.01) 

New home ownership offer 

  Tenants in Sir William Jackson Grove estate are being offered by government the possibility to purchase their flats under the home ownership scheme.

  The sale price will be the original price plus 7% per annum less the Option C instalments already paid. Tenants may buy either 100% or 50% of the flats.

  Tenants interested are being asked to call at the Housing Agency with a view to assessing the number of tenants who may wish to go ahead. (07.04.01)

Gibraltar, Guernsey and Jersey to meet on OECD tax threat

Gibraltar, Guernsey and Jersey are to meet next week on matters relating to the offshore tax threat from the OECD, which has warned a list of territories to comply with the removal of harmful taxes or face possible economic sanctions.

  Territories have until July to make their intentions known, and to comply fully on a series of measures, by 2005.

  The talks between the chief minister of Gibraltar Peter Caruana and the governments of Jersey and Guernsey are to take place on Monday at the Gibraltar government office in London.

  Mr Caruana is accompanied by minister for trade and industry Keith Azopardi, finance centre director James Tipping, Gibraltar Brussels office director Michael Llamas and the chief minister's private secretary John Reyes.

  "The meeting with the representatives of Jersey and Guernsey is related to OECD tax matters and is part of the continuing process of coordination between Gibraltar and the Crown dependencies," said a statement from the chief minister's office.  (06.04.01) 

Presence of Spanish technician at Tireless testing 'no credibility',

say Spaniards

  The request from Spain, to have a technician from their nuclear safety council present during hydrotesting on the nuclear submarine HMS Tireless, has no credibility, said Spanish campaigners against the presence of the British submarine at Gibraltar.

  Martin Caballero, who heads the civic platform against Tireless, recalled that the Spanish nuclear safety council, by their own admission, are on record as saying that they have no expertise on submarine nuclear reactors.

  The Spanish government, they say, is simply trying to cover up its duplicity in allowing the submarine repairs to proceed, despite energetic protests on the Spanish side of the frontier.

  When requesting that a technician be present, the Spanish nuclear safety council made the point that this was to allay fears in the Spanish population.  The Gibraltar government said it would not oppose the visit on the clear understanding that this was in the context of neighbourly cooperation and that the Spaniards had no say in the running of the British base at Gibraltar. The Gibraltar opposition say they do not agree with the visit.

  Tireless is expected to leave Gibraltar next month on full completion of its repair and testing. (06.04.01) 

Gibraltar persuading public opinion, says self-determination group

 
  The Self-Determination for Gibralar group says it believes Gibraltar must congratulate itself on the almost simultaneous events at the Parliaments of Spain and the UK.
  The abstention by all four MPs of one of the political parties in the motion in the Spanish Parliament seeking to damage Gibraltar's economy, and the vote against by one Spanish MP, demonstrate that Gibraltar can make headway in persuading Spanish public opinion of the righteousness of our cause.
  While the SDGG does not campaign for any particular status for Gibraltar, only for the right of the Gibraltarians to take the decisions, it wishes to recognise publicly that the motion now before the UK Parliament for the enfranchisement of Gibraltar at Westminster and the European Union via the UK is a great achievement and is the result of a great lobbying effort by a great number of people in Gibraltar and outside it on our behalf. For their constant lobbying, for their persistence and determination, all concerned in Gibraltar, Government, Opposition, the London office, the pressure groups, and the political parties, should all congratulate themselves.
  "Both events may also be held to demonstrate the value of the presence of Members of Parliament at The Political Rally on Gibraltar National Day," said group spokesman William Serfaty.(06.04.01)

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