Spain continues in attacking Gibraltar!

The onslaught against Gibraltar from Spain

If there was ever any doubt how much Spanish Government hates Gibraltar and its people – the behaviour of their government in the last year leaves no doubt to anyone’s mind!

Their onslaught attacks to discredit our country - our government – our laws and our people is more than just playground childish tactics. We are in the 21^st Century both Spain and Gibraltar are in the European Union and both could do more for each other if only they stopped making their claim to our country and used any possible means to make their claim and use it against us!

Spain is constantly trying to undermine our laws and push a sovereignty claim with total disregard about OUR VOICE - OUR CHOICE AND OUR RIGHTS! This is now beyond a joke – it is against our basic human right of Freedom of choice! It is against what DEMOCRACY stands for! 


All high-level dealings between London and Madrid have been overshadowed by the Spanish Government’s insistence in using those meetings to raise any issues about Gibraltar. Spanish Government know full well that those meetings are NOT for raising Gibraltar as that should be raised in the tripartite talks! This PP spanish government has not only stopped tripartite talks but even the agreements made in the Cordoba agreement.
 Repeated challenges to British sovereignty have been rebuffed by us – the Gibraltar's residents, who rejected the idea of Spanish rule in referendums in 1967 and 2002.
The current Spanish government under Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy stepped up pressure earlier this year in talks with David Cameron during which he demanded Gibraltar back, an invitation the British prime minister declined.
Queen Sofia of Spain then took Mr Rajoy's advice earlier this month and declined an invitation to Windsor Castle to attend a lunch to celebrate the Queen's Diamond Jubilee.
El Pais newspaper in Spain said the snub was in response to a forthcoming trip to Gibraltar by Prince Edward.
Giles Chichester, another Tory MEP whose South West euro-constituency includes Gibraltar, commented: “Gibraltar is under British rule and that is how it will stay for the foreseeable future. The Spanish are being irrational and need to get a grip. What happens in Gibraltar, frankly, is not the responsibility of the Spanish”.
Fellow Tory MEP for Gibraltar Ashley Fox said he had written to the European Commission to condemn “this latest act of provocation” by Spain.
”This is simply another case of the Spanish government trying to divert public attention away from the problems with their economy. The Spanish need to accept that Gibraltar is allowed to govern its own waters.

The “Get tough on Gibraltar” a policy from Mr Rajoy has to come to a halt. Spain has its' own colonial enclaves in North Africa - so we find the claim on Gibraltar to be very hypocritical to say the very least. Maybe we should start to openly support the Moroccans in their claim for the return of Ceuta, Melila and the other outposts of Spain in North Africa.

The fishing dispute raises an interesting paradox - Spain says that Gibraltar does not have any territorial waters. How strange that the ONLY place to fish around the Iberian Peninsula is adjacent to Gibraltar. The Spanish fishermen want to fish in Gibraltar waters because they can't fish in the waters off Algeciras because the nets they use are illegal under Spanish law. So the GC are protecting them in one place and at the same time arresting other fishermen near Marbella for doing the same thing as they are encouraging off Gibraltar.

Gibraltar was under Moorish rule for 700 years until the 15th century, when it was conquered by the Duke of Medina Sidonia.

In 1704, during the War of the Spanish Succession, the British navy captured Gibraltar. Most of the town's citizens left the city.

In the treaty of Utrecht in 1713, Spain ceded Gibraltar to the UK. The phrase used was 'in perpetuity', words which mean Eternity – Endlessness, Permanence, Infinity, Timelessness, Time without end or all time.

Despite this, Spain continued to covet The Rock and made several attempts to regain its control, the most famous of which being the Great Siege of 1779-1783.

During the Napoleonic Wars, Spain and Great Britain became allies and the Spanish relinquished their claim over Gibraltar.

In 1954, Queen Elizabeth II visited Gibraltar. This was to spark a renewed claim by Spain to the sovereignty of Gibraltar. Franco, dictator of Spain at the time, imposed restrictions on movement between Gibraltar and Spain. In 1967 a referendum was held in Gibraltar regarding the colony's sovereignty - the overwhelming majority voted to remain British. Two years later, Franco closes the border between Gibraltar and Spain. In 1982 the restrictions were partially lifted and in 1985 the border was fully reopened.

More of our hoistroy below from our government website

History - www.gibraltar.gov.gi/history

When you first see the Rock of Gibraltar, whether it is from the air, from the sea or from the Costa del Sol , it is its impressive stature, towering isolated above the surrounding countryside, that causes the greatest impact. It has had this effect on people for many thousands of years. Gibraltar is a beacon which signals the position of the Strait of Gibraltar, the narrow neck which separates Europe from Africa and provides the only link between the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea. Through the following text you will be given a dated account of all the historical moments of importance involving Gibraltar. Pre History   The African Plate collided tightly with Europe some 55 million years ago. The Mediterranean became a lake which, in the course of time, dried up until 5 million years ago when the Atlantic broke through the Strait of Gibraltar and flooded it again, isolating the Rock of Jurassic limestone. 940 BC The Phoenicians follow other navigators from the eastern Mediterranean in visiting the Strait and found the city Carteia at the head of the Bay of Gibraltar. The Rock becomes a place of worship where sailors sacrifice to the gods before entering the Atlantic. 711 AD It happened in the month of April in the year 711 AD. Following the death of the prophet Mohammed a wave of Islamic conquest overran North Africa from Arabia. By 710 AD it had reached the shores of the Strait and Europe was poised for the Islamic conquest. There are various versions of the events but one thing is clear - the Visgoths who had deposed the Romans and ruled Spain were weak and divided. The Visgothic Count Julian who ruled over Ceuta in North Africa was surrounded and he had a score to settle with his compatriots on the other side of the Strait. So, to divert the Muslims, he offered to assist them in the conquest of Spain. The assault was down to a Berber chief, Tarik-ibn-Ziyad, the Governor of Tangier. He sailed across the Strait by night, from Ceuta not Tangier so as not to arouse suspicion and used Visgothic ships. His first attempt on Algeciras failed but he was successful in landing undetected on Gibraltar. Following the Moslem General Tarik successful landing on the Rock, he assembles his forces before defeating the Gothic King Roderick, and entering into the conquest of Spain. Gibraltar becomes known as Jebal Tarik (Mountain of Tarik) from which it takes its present name. 1160 AD By the 11th Century AD Gibraltar is part of the Arab kingdom of Seville except for a short period when it comes under Berber rule from Malaga. The mounting threat of invasion by North Africa sects forces the Arab Governor of Algeciras to order in 1068 the building of a fort in Gibraltar. Spain is eventually overrun by another North African sect, the Almohads, and it was their leader, Abd-ad-Mummin, who commanded the building of the first city in Gibraltar - the Medinat al-Fath, the City of Victory. It was by all accounts, an impressive city and its foundations were laid on the 19th May 1160 AD. On completion of the works Al - Mummin personally crossed the Strait to inspect the works and stayed in Gibraltar for two months, inviting all his subordinate kings to see his works. It is said that Al - Mummin was especially impressed by a large windmill which had been built on top of the hill (Windmill Hill). 1309 AD Skirmishing and fighting continued between 1160 and 1300, among Muslims or between Muslims and Christians. 1252 left only two Islamic kingdoms in Spain, in Murcia and Granada. By the year 1309, King Ferdinand IV had laid siege on Algeciras and, learning of Arab weaknesses on the Rock sent Alonso Perez de Guzman to capture it. Thus Gibraltar endured its first siege. The Spaniards took the Upper Rock from where they bombarded the town using cannons. The garrison surrendered after one month. Gibraltar then had 1500 inhabitants and they were allowed to leave for North Africa. 1333 AD The Spaniards set to repair the fortifications and shipyard but few people wanted to settle in Gibraltar, which was considered to be a high risk town. This forced Ferdinand to offer freedom from justice to anyone who lived in Gibraltar for one year and one day. By 1333 Gibraltar was once more in Muslim hands as Abdul Malik, son of the King of Morocco, laid siege. The garrison surrendered after four and a half months of siege. 1374 AD Gibraltar becomes part of the Muslim Kingdom of Granada. 1462 AD Gibraltar is recaptured by Castille and became part of the estates of the Duke of Medina Sidonia. 1492 AD The Catholic King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella conquer Granada, the last vestige of the Muslim domination of Spain. The Jews are expelled from Spain and many pass through Gibraltar on their way into exile in North Africa. 1501 AD It was Queen Isabella who, tired of the petty squabbling among her nobility, issued a decree on the 2nd December 1501 AD, making Gibraltar, Spanish crown property. 1502 AD Queen Isabella grants Gibraltar a coat of arms consisting of a castle, which symbolises its importance as a fortress, and a key which highlights its reputation as the key to Spain, which it has held since the time of Moslem conquest. 1540 AD By the middle of the sixteenth century a new kind of conflict had arisen as Corsairs from the coast of Barbary, under their infamous leader Barbarossa, hounded the zone. In the summer of 1540 a large fleet of pirates assembled and raided the poorly defended Gibraltar. Years later, after mounting pressure from the inhabitants of Gibraltar, the Emperor Charles V ordered the Italian engineer Calvi to build a protective wall. This wall was extended to reach the top of the Rock in the reign of Philip II some years later. 1606 AD The Moriscos (the descendants of the Moslem inhabitants in Spain) are expelled and many pass through Gibraltar on their way into exile in North Africa.    1704 AD Life continued at a slow pace until the beginning of the eighteenth century. Then, on the 17th July 1704, a council of war was held aboard the English warship Royal Catherine off the North African town of Tetuan. Four days later the English fleet, under Admiral Sir George Rooke, entered the Gibraltar Bay. At 3pm 1,800 English and Dutch marines were landed on the isthmus with the Dutch Prince Hesse at the head. Gibraltar was cut off but the Governor of Gibraltar refused to surrender. The days that followed saw a massive bombardment of the town by the English fleet on the morning of the 23rd, 1,500 shots were fired in 5-6 hours against the town. Landings took place in the south and in the morning of the 24th, the Governor capitulated. So in this way a joint Anglo-Dutch force captured Gibraltar, on behalf of Charles of Austria who was pretender to the throne of Spain. Things took a while to settle down. Shortly after the capture a Spanish goatherd, Simon Susarte, led 500 Spanish troops to Europa Advance on the south-eastern side of the Rock and then killed the guard. They moved to the Upper Rock and spent the night in St Michael's Cave. The next morning they attacked the Signal Station but the alarm was raised and the English counter-attacked. 160 prisoners were taken including a colonel and thirty other officers; the rest were killed trying to escape. 1705 AD Gibraltar is declared a 'free port', which leads to its development as an important international trading centre. 1707 AD The first British Governor is appointed and takes up residence in the Convent of the Franciscan Friars. 1713 AD Spain under the Terms of the Treaty of Utrecht cedes Gibraltar to Britain in perpetuity. 1727 AD Skirmishes and attacks continued for a while. By 1726 trading between Gibraltar and Spain had resumed. Then, early in 1727 the Spaniards laid the 13th siege on the Rock but after several unsuccessful and costly attempts gave up in June of the same year.    1779 AD to 1783 AD The final military siege on Gibraltar followed many years later, in 1779. On this occasion the Spaniards and French combined forces and launched a massive onslaught, which was to last close to four years. It was a siege, known as the Great Siege, which was to test the ingenuity and will to survive of the garrison. The galleries were dug during this time, as Sergeant Major Ince attempted to drill a tunnel to place a gun in a vantage point on the Rock. On tunnelling sideways to make ventilations he realised that these exits would make perfect gun positions. Later, a Lieutenant Koehler designed a carriage, which allowed guns on the cliffs to be directly pointed down at the enemy. Accounts of the siege are full of vivid stories of survival and daring. On the 21st November, 1781, the defenders of the garrison took the offensive and caught the enemy batteries on the isthmus by surprise, destroying them and setting back their progress: this event is commemorated as the Sortie. 1782 AD Work starts on the Great Siege Tunnels which became the great and complex system of underground fortifications which today criss-cross the inside of the Rock. After the Siege, the fortifications were rebuilt and, in the following century, the walls were lined with Portland stone which gives them their present white appearance. 1784 AD The war with Spain ends after the Treaty of Versailles is signed. 1793 AD to 1815 AD The French revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars lead to a big increase in the trade, prosperity and population of Gibraltar. The town, which had been destroyed in the Great Siege, is rebuilt. 1805 AD The great yellow fever epidemic, over a third of the civilian population die. 1810 AD The Spanish fortifications at the frontier are demolished as Britain and Spain are allies in the War against Napoleon. Free access across the frontier is established. 1830 AD Gibraltar is declared a Crown Colony. The Royal Gibraltar Police is established. 1848 AD A skull was found in the Forbes's Quarry at the foot of the sheer north face of the Rock of Gibraltar. Nobody knew it at the time but it belonged not to a modern human, like us, but to a prehistoric form. It was sent to the UK where it was conserved. Eight years later in the Neander Valley near Dusseldorf in Germany another was found giving this human its name - instead of Gibraltar Man it became Neanderthal Man. 1894 AD The construction of the dockyards commences. 1922 AD The City Council is established and the first elections are held in Gibraltar. 1940 AD As a consequence of the Second World War, which broke out in 1939, the civilian population is evacuated to Britain, Jamaica and Madeira, in order for Gibraltar to be fortified against the possibility of a German attack. By 1942 there are over 30,000 British soldiers, sailors and airmen on the Rock. The repatriation of the civilians started in 1944 and proceeded for some six years although the majority had returned by 1946 1950 AD Gibraltar's first Legislative Council is opened. 1967 AD A referendum is held and the Gibraltarians overwhelmingly vote for continuing their association with Britain. 1969 AD Franco closes the Frontier in pursuit of his claim for Gibraltar. 1982 AD In 1982, ships were refitted for the Falklands campaign and Gibraltar became a stopover for ships and troops. 1983 AD Spain reopens the frontier for pedestrians only. 1985 AD The frontier with Spain is opened fully. Gibraltar's trade and population thrive. Its inhabitants live harmoniously in a peaceful and unique multi-cultural society 1991 AD As in 1982, Gibraltar served a similar function during the Gulf War. The Rock, the beacon which attracted the Gibraltarians over the ages, retains its power and charms as it looks towards the 21st Century.

 

Furthermore they are breaking many of the laws in the European Charter in the preamble from the European Parliament. Do not take my word for it read the below for yourselves and then you can understand how wrong and illegal Spain’s constant bullying and harassment is to Gibraltar and how The European Union and their MEPs are turning a blind eye to what is happening right before their very eyes! I urge all of you readers out there to write to your own MEPs and stand up and fight for our liberation from the Spanish Oppression from the Spanish Government in Madrid!

Reference to the European Charter in the preamble in European Parliament.

FREEDOMS

Article 6

Right to liberty and security

Everyone has the right to liberty and security of person.

Article 11

Freedom of expression and information

1. Everyone has the right to freedom of expression. This right shall include freedom to hold opinions and to receive and impart information and ideas without interference by public authority and regardless of frontiers.

2. The freedom and pluralism of the media shall be respected.

Article 12

Freedom of assembly and of association

1. Everyone has the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and to freedom of association at all levels, in particular in political, trade union and civic matters, which implies

EQUALITY

Article 20

Equality before the law

Everyone is equal before the law.

Article 21

Non-discrimination

1. Any discrimination based on any ground such as sex, race, colour, ethnic or social origin, genetic features, language, religion or belief, political or any other opinion, membership of a national minority, property, birth, disability, age or sexual orientation shall be prohibited. 2. Within the scope of application of the Treaty establishing the European Community and of the Treaty on European Union, and without prejudice to the special provisions of those Treaties, any discrimination on grounds of nationality shall be prohibited.

Solidarity

Article 37

Environmental protection

A high level of environmental protection and the improvement of the quality of the environment must be integrated into the policies of the Union and ensured in accordance with the principle of sustainable development.

Citizen’s Rights

Article 41

Right to good administration

1. Every person has the right to have his or her affairs handled impartially, fairly and within a reasonable time by the institutions and bodies of the Union.

2. This right includes:

o   The right of every person to be heard, before any individual measure which would affect him or her adversely is taken;

o   The right of every person to have access to his or her file, while respecting the legitimate interests of confidentiality and of professional and business secrecy;

o   The obligation of the administration to give reasons for its decisions.

3. Every person has the right to have the Community make good any damage caused by its institutions or by its servants in the performance of their duties, in accordance with the general principles common to the laws of the Member States.

4. Every person may write to the institutions of the Union in one of the languages of the Treaties and must have an answer in the same language.

Article 44

Right to petition

Any citizen of the Union and any natural or legal person residing or having its registered office in a Member State has the right to petition the European Parliament.

Article 45

Freedom of movement and of residence

1. Every citizen of the Union has the right to move and reside freely within the territory of the Member States.

2. Freedom of movement and residence may be granted, in accordance with the Treaty establishing the European Community, to nationals of third countries legally resident in the territory of a Member State.

Article 52

Scope of guaranteed rights

1. Any limitation on the exercise of the rights and freedoms recognised by this Charter must be provided for by law and respect the essence of those rights and freedoms. Subject to the principle of proportionality, limitations may be made only if they are necessary and genuinely meet objectives of general interest recognised by the Union or the need to protect the rights and freedoms of others.

2. Rights recognised by this Charter which are based on the Community Treaties or the Treaty on European Union shall be exercised under the conditions and within the limits defined by those Treaties.

3. In so far as this Charter contains rights which correspond to rights guaranteed by the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, the meaning and scope of those rights shall be the same as those laid down by the said Convention. This provision shall not prevent Union law providing more extensive protection.

Article 53

Level of protection

Nothing in this Charter shall be interpreted as restricting or adversely affecting human rights and fundamental freedoms as recognised, in their respective fields of application, by Union law and international law and by international agreements to which the Union, the Community or all the Member States are party, including the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, and by the Member States' constitutions.

18.12.2000 EN Official Journal of the European Communities C 364/21

Article 54

Prohibition of abuse of rights

Nothing in this Charter shall be interpreted as implying any right to engage in any activity or to perform any act aimed at the destruction of any of the rights and freedoms recognised in this Charter or at their limitation to a greater extent than is provided for herein.

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Do you consider that the pressure that the Spanish government is exerting on the Divina Providencia case is a gross and an unacceptable interference on the independence of our nation's judiciary and that it should not be tolerated?

According to the Area campo news website all the participants in the spanish state meeting held in Madrid on the joint strategy against Gibraltar all agree that Friday's court case should be adjourned.Is this what is going to happen is it going to be adjourned yet again. http://www.campodegibraltar.es/2013/03/20/pesca-estudia-ayudar-a-los-afectados-por-el-conflicto-con-gibraltar/

Worse still the Spanish Government are using and abusing the fishermen just to make their sovereignty claim again! They just do not get it Gibraltar is British and according the the UNCLOS we do have territorial waters! 

Their propaganda of hate towards us as a people and a country is now spreading through their people see below another tactic following the guy with the T-Shirt last week with the caption close the border!

Now a group of Spanish people are giving out leaflets or rather placing them on Gibraltar registered cars whilst they park in La Linea town – this is the town nearest the border.

The Spanish language sign reads

"GSE - Acronym for Gibraltar Forever Spanish. Get out of Spain" (By that they mean Gibraltarians leave the Rock)

We also hear reports of several restaurants, bars and coffee shops again displaying "Gibraltarians are not allowed into these premises " signs in Spain. These were being displayed a while back, and seem to have re-emerged of late.

 

Anne-Marie Struggles