Cameron reaffirms to Rajoy 30.000 Gibraltarians right to self determination
Britain will not negotiate with Spain on the question of sovereignty over Gibraltar without the approval of the colony's residents, Premier David Cameron said this week during a visit by Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy.
The British leader spoke at a joint press conference with Rajoy after the two men met for the first time since the Spaniard took office in December.
“We have spoken about Gibraltar and the foreign ministers will continue talking in the future. We have different positions, but we will keep talking,” Rajoy said.
Cameron, however, was more categorical, stressing that Britain's position in favour of self-determination for Gibraltarians “has not changed”.
“It's important to understand” that London will not enter into talks on Gibraltar without consulting the wishes of the Rock's residents, the British prime minister said, before describing the current ties between Spain and Britain as excellent.
The Rock currently has some 30.000 residents, who overwhelmingly rejected a 2002 proposal for Britain to share sovereignty over the territory with Spain.
Rajoy's conservative Popular Party government signalled last month that it would seek to revive talks with London on Gibraltar.
The Socialist administration of Rodriguez Zapatero that took office in Madrid in 2004 decided to put the sovereignty dispute to one side in favour of cooperative efforts to benefit people living on both sides of the Spain-Gibraltar border. The tripartite understanding included the UK, Spain and Gibraltar.
The Spanish daily ABC quoted Spanish Foreign Ministry sources as saying that UK had rejected a Spanish proposal for quadripartite talks to replace the tripartite process now rejected by Madrid.
ABC said that Britain’s Foreign Secretary William Hague has replied by letter to his Spanish counterpart Jose Manuel Garcia Margallo, who formally wrote to Mr Hague asking for sovereignty talks, on this point.
But in spite of agreeing to disagree on Gibraltar, the main issue of the Cameron-Rajoy talks focused on the drastic labour reforms and budget cuts the Spanish Conservative is implementing under recommendation from the EU and which turned out 1.5 million people on Sunday to protest in Spanish cities.
However Britain so far has refused to participate in the rescue of the battered EU economies, although the UK is undergoing a similar process, and is highly dependent on trade with the European Union.
Spain is the UK seventh’s export market and the eighth importer. Over 400 Spanish corporations have investments in the UK including Ferrovial, which owns several airports; Scottish Power was acquired by Iberdrola and Santander has taken over several British banks.
Likewise the UK is the second investor in Spain and the tourist exchange between both countries is very significant.
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Mariano Rajoy: “You should negotiate about Gibraltar!”
David Cameron: “Are you negotiating about the Canary Islands, Ceuta or Melilla?”
Mariano Rajoy: “Of course not, they are Spanish!!!!”
David Cameron: “Is there any blood in your hypocrisy system?”
XXI colonialism: “Self governing” Overseas Territories.
What really I don't understand is C24 should apparently be super happy about self-determination being of great importance and territories being decolonised, however because of the nationalist poison of the Argies, the C24 seems to only be happy if a new colony is being created.
The argies and spanish both have toilet economies so if giving them something to get upset about keeps them busy, so be it.
It really is embarrassing. What does it say about the UK in comparison with these hispanic countries? It says lots about the UK and very little good about the other two.
David has kindly told me to 'fook off', but I am having that translated because I do not know what it means.
Why is DC not as interested in the chagossians right to self-determination? Is it because they are not descendants of the British Isles?
The chagossians have had to go through the British Court system to try and regain the right to return to their Islands in the Indian Ocean (e.g. Diego Garcia) to no avail. And yes, they are indigenous peoples to those islands like Diego Garcia which the British leased to the USA for a military base.
don't hold your breath though
No “Chagossian” ever owned property on the archipelago. Initially, it was all the property of the French financed Mauritian company, Societe Huiliere de Diego et Peros. In 1962, the plantations were sold to the Seychelles Company, Chagos-Agalega Company. In April 1967, the British Indian Ocean Territory Administration bought out Chagos-Agalega for £600,000, thus becoming the sole property owner in the BIOT. Still no “Chagossian” owned any property. The owners of a property can, basically, do what they like. The British Government sent the Mauritian government £650,000 in full and final settlement of the government's obligations. I understand that the Mauritians kept the money but did nothing. In 1979, Britain offerered the IIois,their proper name, a further £1.25 million.
Has argieland ever done anything similar for all the indigenous people they dispossessed and murdered. Not a chance. Now how much do you reckon you owe the “real” indigenous people of your country? Just how many of your forbears did you betray and/or kill, half-breed? You have no justification for pointing a finger. You and your forbears have done MUCH, MUCH worse. Perhaps you should try researching the names of all the tribes that USED to occupy the territory now called Argentina. While you're at it, you could try identifying all the communities and the size of the populations your ancestors helped to annihilate. Have you no shame?
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