GIBRALTAR today Letters

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Whence comes this drivel?

Letter sent to Chris Bryant MP - 

At the risk of being pedantic, Spain has been a democracy since 1976, not 1969. However, the Gibraltar frontier was not fully reopened until 1985, there are still no air or maritime links, and restrictions on the Gibraltar telephone numbering plan and roaming arrangements for Gibraltar mobile phones in Spain. I could go on.

As to the fact that 17 times more Britons live in Spain than live in Gibraltar, why is this relevant to ANYTHING? Gibraltarians are not, repeat, NOT, British expatriates. I look forward to discussions with France over the future of the Channel Islands, with people pointing out that many more Britons live in France than live in Jersey or Guernsey!

Gibraltar now seems set to go down the path of UDI. It is sad, but we Brits seem to have a knack for squandering goodwill and turning our friends against us.

Yours etc,
Ken Westmoreland.

Gib voice must be heard clearly

Dear Sir,

For some time now, I have been sending letters which have been published, in the news media in Gibraltar, as to what this Labour Government is capable of. There has also been quite a number of UK people writing in, stressing the importance of not falling in any trap. As a Gibraltarian living in UK I am trying to attract as much media coverage as possible in order to win our battle.

Living in UK you can feel the full force of this Labour Government, and I have been trying to emphasise this to our Gibraltar politicians, emphasising that time for action came a long time ago, and Mr. “President of Europe” Blair, does not care and will never care about us Gibraltarians.

Just look at the mess they have created in Northern Ireland. Does he care? NO.

Mr Blair has become the World Saviour against terrorism, yet he wants to flush down the toilet our privilege, our respect, our heritage, our dignity to the right of wanting to remain British. And does he care? NO.

So our voice to him must be heard clearly at the four corners of this earth. NO We Will Never Surrender our rights as British citizens or our British soil. Maybe this time our Gibraltar politicians may listen to what I have been emphasising for a long time, or maybe not? They might say he is not a politician, but what does he know?

To the War Veterans in Gibraltar, I bow and salute you for the demonstration you organised. You make us Gibraltarians living abroad feel very, very proud. And to those who opposed the demonstration, have you seen the done deal in principle?

Maybe this time we can all join, and make the biggest demonstration ever. Let’s hold it in Gibraltar and the UK at the same day. I am more than willing to organise the UK side, so please, all Gibraltar groups and politicians feel free to contact me in order to organise it.

Once again I hope my words do not hit a brick wall.

Kind regards,
Allen Bula
UK.
Abulauk@aol.com 

Different agenda?

Dear Editor,

If any confirmation were needed, it was delivered tonight by the absence of the government, at the highly successful demo organised by Charles Benyunes, which deserves our congratulations. It must now be obvious to all that the so called Representative Committee is a thinly disguised delaying tactic designed to ensure that whatever appropriate action is decided upon, it will be too little and too late. No doubt forthcoming demonstrations will confirm that the CM’s agenda is a quite different one from that of the people of Gibraltar.

paulhoddy@gibnynex.gi 


Can anyone imagine an agreement with Spain?

Sir,

Europe is uniting and that is acceptable with Gibraltar. We have always wanted that kind of setup with our own voice or be represented equally like the Spanish or French colonies. Nevertheless, what we do not need is the EU, UK, NATO and now Spain and obviously the Gibraltar government to administrate a town of 30,000.

How can that arrangement be classified as greater freedom and more self-government? It sounds to me like turning the clock back to the old colonial days. Can anyone imagine an agreement with Spain? Nothing will get done unless they have their own way.

The days when we were a burden to the UK taxpayer are over. Gibraltar in the past 15 years has proved that it can take good care of itself. We even provide jobs for the unemployed UK nationals residing in Spain, including Spaniards and other Europeans.

In addition, we invest millions in Spain like most other countries. It is true that since 1704 Gibraltar has been a cause of friction between London and Madrid. However, it is very soon forgotten that Britain owes her economic success and existence as a Super Power to the exploited underpaid people and nations of the British Commonwealth including Gibraltar.

There is no doubt in my mind, that it is Britain’s responsibility to settle this issue once and for all in favour of Gibraltar and not Spain. After all, Britain created the problem in the first place.

Lionel Ullger
New Jersey,
USA.

Spain’s colonial record

Dear Sir,

Your correspondent Señor J. A. Perez should reflect on his own country’s colonial track record, in Ifni and the Spanish Sahara. People in Germany who yearn for the return of East Prussia and Silesia by Poland are rightly looked upon as oddballs, so why don’t Spanish people who whine about what happened in 1704 grow up and get a life?

As for how I feel about a Spanish enclave in Dover, Penzance, or Portland Bill, all I can say is ‘which of them would you like and how soon?’

In the UK press we get embarrassing letters from British expatriates in Spain defending that country’s position on Gibraltar, and telling us how Ceuta and Melilla are ‘different’ from the Rock.

One chap in Benalmadena wrote to the Daily Telegraph telling us that the original Spanish inhabitants of Gibraltar didn’t have a referendum on being taken over by the British. I seriously doubt that the indigenous populations of the Americas and the Philippines were consulted about Spanish rule! King Juan Carlos should give him a medal - la Orden de la Nariz Marrón.

It is perfectly possible for Brits to live happily with Spanish people and disagree about Gibraltar, just as it is to live happily with people in the Republic of Ireland and disagree about Northern Ireland. If you want to ingratiate yourself with your host country, you should renounce you British citizenship and become Spanish. In fairness, some UK emigres in Gibraltar have turned into extreme Gibraltarian nationalists!

Gibraltarians are always patronisingly told about how many British expats live happily on the Costas, so why not set an example to them? I look forward to the people of the Channel Islands being told that they have nothing to fear from being handed over to France, because lots of Brits already live happily in the Dordogne.

Hang on, why doesn’t the UK give the Channel Islands to Spain and the Isle of Man to Argentina, given that most people here think they’re colonies anyway?

Regards,
Ken Westmoreland
UK.

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