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Princess Anne to visit naval base and the Gibraltar Squadron
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by JOE GARCIA
Princess Anne, the Princess Royal, flew into Gibraltar yesterday afternoon onboard a Royal Air Force jet at the start of a 3-day official visit.
The visit has sparked off an official complaint from Spain which describes it as an "inopportune" visit that injures the sensibilities of Spanish people.The Spanish complaint was yesterday being aired in the Spanish media as a prelude to Princess Anne's arrival.
When first informed on 16 January by the British of the visit, the Spanish Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs Angel Lossada lost no time in telephoning the British Ambassador in Madrid, Denise Holt, to express Spain's displeasure.
Despite the Spanish protest, the visit has gone ahead. It is the second visit to Gibraltar by the Princess in four years.
The previous visit was in 2004 during the celebrations of the 300th anniversary of British Gibraltar. British sources have told PANORAMA that the Princess has "very fond memories" of that visit, which Spain also objected to.
CIVILIAN AND MILITARY
The current visit features civilian and military engagements. There are official receptions and dinners, a walk-about by the Princess in the Main Street and a Rock tour.
The Chief Minister Peter Caruana is today hosting a reception in the King's Bastion Leisure Centre.
Meanwhile, the Spanish Government has been intensifying its contention that Gibraltar does not have territorial waters because this is not specified in the treaty of Utrecht of 1713, under which Spain ceded the Rock to Britain forever, following its capture in 1704. It has also described the eastide project as a 'violation of Spanish sovereignty'.
Neither Britain nor Gibraltar agree with it. Princess Anne will visit the naval base headquarters today as well as the Gibraltar Squadron, whose role is described as the security and defence of British territorial waters around the Rock.
Later, she will officially open a multi-million pound, purpose-built military medical centre, which carries her name (the Princess Royal Medical Centre), and is sited next to the Royal Gibraltar Regiment camp in Devil's Tower. The Spanish Foreign Ministry is making a song and dance about this, arguing that the centre is in the 'isthmus'. So is the airfield for that matter.
The visit ends on Friday after a tour of the new Waterport Terraces housing estate and St Martin's special school.
WELCOMED
Both the Gibraltar Government and the Opposition have welcomed the visit. In a pointed statement, the Opposition said that Princess Anne's visit to a British territory "is none of Spain's business."
The Spanish complaint on this occasion has been at a lower level than was the case in 2004 when the Spanish Foreign Minister himself made negative references to the visit. What emerged then from that negative political scenario was the tripartite process.
At present no side wants to be seen as being responsible for bringing the tripartite process to an end, whether temporary or otherwise, even though the issues under consideration are causing concern, as they seem to impinge on sovereignty, and hence the delays that are patently evident.
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