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What a way to knock the Rock
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Gibraltar is on a war footing, headlined the Spanish right-wing daily La Razon in a photo on is front page that some thought was to do with Gibraltar when, in fact, it was of a helicopter crew exercising in Hampshire, England, to
get ready for the parade and display at the weekend as part of the Queen's Diamond Jubilee celebrations.
A caption in the paper said that 'the prime minister of the Rock sends the Royal Navy to expel the Spanish fishermen.
It is one of the issues Picardo had to correct when he was interviewed for a debate on Saturday night in the Spanish Telecinco channel.
The debate showed to what extent there is a lack of knowledge of the reality of Gibraltar, of what Gibraltar is all about.
There were those who took a balanced view, but others don't want to hear what they are told and just keep harping stock phrases to try and knock the Rock, reminiscent of the past, which raises the question if democratic Spain has learnt anything about Gibraltar.
It all seems to be geared to knocking the Rock, as if there is in-built hatred that nothing will erase.
Old hat accusations about drugs and Gibraltar being a fiscal paradise, when it is Spain which are the main suppliers of drugs to the rest of Europe.
Gibraltar has a clean sheet with the OECD, but they keep saying that is not so - on what do they base their mistaken information?
Anyone would think Gibraltar were the bad boys, not wanting to see Spaniards making a living - they concentrate on a small number of fishing boats and forget the thousands of other Spaniards who, year in year out, earn a living in Gibraltar.
And what is the Spanish Government doing about feeding their own people, are they not ashamed that little Gibraltar should do so?
And what are they doing about the 10,000 unemployed in La Linea and the over 40,000 in the Campo?
Nothing matters, except knocking Gibraltar.
A Basque senator in the programme was given little time to say anything, and when he did, he was shouted down! He was saying that if a small number of fishing boats could be used to create such a major outcry, what about the many more fishing boats up the Cadiz coast in Barbate who have not been fishing for months and months because they don't come to terms with Morocco, where they fish?
What about the 11 fishing boats arrested by the Guardia Civil in the Malaga area that same day for fishing immature stock?
Someone was shown complaining about petrol being cheaper in Gibraltar than in Spain But they did not say that petrol is cheaper in Spain than in Portugal!
It is all one-way, unfairness in every sentence uttered.
This insistence in fishing in Gibraltar, in the 3 kilometres we have while in Spain they have 8,000 kilometres, as Picardo pointed out.
Why is there no fishing in the protected waters of Algeciras port and Tarifa and beyond? because they would be arrested by the Guardia Civil if they fished there.
But Gibraltar port must be open for fishing and its protected areas must be ignored!
Gibraltar is Spanish, some said, even if under the Treaty of Utrecht it was ceded to Britain in perpetuity! The Gibraltarians? It appears they think we have no rights!
They even complain about the Royal Gibraltar Regiment being on guard duties in Buckingham Palace! What else can one say?
21-05-12
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