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Landaluce gets his telephone lines crossed
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The Opposition considers that it is important to highlight the absurdity of the arguments used by the Partido Popular in their recent outbursts about Gibraltar and in particular the level of ignorance shown by Ignacio Landaluce MP.
It is obvious that Mr Landaluce does not know what he is talking about and that the least he could do before he opens his mouth is to get his facts right when it comes to Gibraltar issues.
Amongst his complaints, Mr Landaluce refers to a recent concession of 100,000 telephone lines to Gibraltar and says that this was a disproportionate number for a population of 28,000 inhabitants. Mr Landaluce does not seem to know that the offer by the Spanish Government, made several years ago, to increase the number of Gibraltar telephone lines from 30,000 to 100,000 as part of the numbering plan of Cadiz was rejected by Gibraltar. Moreover, in Cordoba in 2006 the Spanish Government announced that they had accepted the international dialling code for Gibraltar 350 which the rest of the world had recognised since IDD was introduced, says the Opposition.
Their statement adds: Contrary to what Mr Landaluce thinks, we are not limited to 100,000 telephone lines. We now have the same unlimited number of lines that the whole of Spain has. Unlike Andalucia or Cadiz who are restricted by having to operate within the Spanish system, Gibraltar has no such constraint.
"Therefore for the purpose of international telephony Gibraltar is a separate nation from Spain. It is absurd therefore that Mr Landaluce should solemnly declare that he suspected that the extra lines he believes we have received from Madrid could be used to encourage internet gaming. In fact Gibraltar has the capacity telephone-wise to offer millions of lines for internet gaming should it prove necessary," they say.
TAX AGREEMENTS
Mr Landaluce also takes offence at the fact that our country has entered into an international agreement on exchange of tax information with New Zealand, a country which has traditionally been very supportive our right to decolonisation and self-determination. For the benefit of Mr Landaluce, and so that he does not make a fool of himself by asking a question in the Spanish parliament on this matter, he should take note that among the other territories being urged to sign these agreements internationally are a number of colonies and that Gibraltar is not the only one to do so. There is nothing which says that a territory which is a colony cannot enter into a tax agreement with an independent country. The examples of this are the Cayman Islands and Bermuda, the Opposition adds.
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