UK reaffirms sovereignty over Gibraltar territorial waters following incident with the Guardia Civil
The UK reaffirmed sovereignty over Gibraltar and Gibraltar territorial waters following an incident with the Spanish Guardia Civil which detained two Gibraltar British Nationals in British jurisdiction and transferred them to Spain.
Foreign Office Minister for Europe David Lidington said he is “shocked by the disgraceful behaviour of the Spanish Guardia Civil,” following the reports of the two hour detention of a Gibraltar boat.
“The (UK) Government will be making it clear to Spain that such action, on the part of the law enforcement agencies of a EU Partner and NATO Ally, is intolerable and unlawful”, said the Foreign Office official.
“The British Government remains confident of our Sovereignty of Gibraltar and British Gibraltar Territorial Waters. Our position is clear. The UK will never enter into arrangements under which the people of Gibraltar would pass under the sovereignty of another State against their wishes. Furthermore, the UK will not enter into a process of sovereignty negotiations with which Gibraltar is not content.”
A Foreign Office statement said: “At around 2330 local time on Friday night the Spanish Guardia Civil intercepted a local Gibraltarian sports fishing boat approximately 200 meters off the coast of Gibraltar. The two Gibraltarian British Nationals were detained and transferred to Algeciras in Spain. The British Nationals and their boat were released without charge at approximately 0200 – although some fishing equipment was held in Spain.
”This action comes in the context of an ongoing disagreement between the Gibraltarian authorities and a group of local Spanish fishermen who want to fish in BGTW in contravention of Gibraltarian law. Throughout this period British and Gibraltarian agencies have sought to respond in a calm and professional manner and the Chief Minister has instituted talks between the Gibraltarian authorities and the fishermen to work to resolve the situation. There has been no arrest or detention of any Spanish national or Spanish boat. The actions of the Guardia Civil in detaining Gibraltarian British Nationals in British Gibraltar Territorial Waters are a provocative escalation and contrary to international law”.
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29 comments Feed
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And beginning to sound like CFK and Spain,
We are confident,
Its provocative
Once again, we send the wrong message,
We are weak to weak to defend what is ours,
Send an apache gunship
[No it might offend someone]
Send the royal navy
[Oh no it might be provocative]
Send a sub,
[Oh no, it might be seen as militarising the waters]
Send the RAF,
[Oh no people might complain of the noise]
Send the fxcking army,
[Oh no, it might abuse the rights of the Spanish]
Put simply,
Stop talking and fxcking back it up, or shut up, you’re embarrassing us,
But if it happened in French or American or even Angolan waters,
Boy wouldn’t the Spanish been put in there place,
But we are just a law abiding peaceful nation now, and has no wish to offended our ally,
[But really the truth is]
We have nothing left in the fridge, its either been sold, out of date,
Or put in the bin,]
Shhhhhhhhhh bu don’t t tell anyone,
We don’t want the world to know the conservatives have fxcked it all up,
Just my opinion, just my point .
dont likey,,, dont read
I think the gibraltarians should do exactly what they choose to do, they are grown up enough to decide their own future and they have chosen to remain British. It's called self-determination.
That's right. They can decide for themselves.
But there may be 40 million outcast and implants
Languishing in argentina..
And just like the Falklands, the gibraltariens are saddled with a bad and nasty,
Neighbours,
Thank god, that Britain is better than that,
And just ignore the nasty children.
of course you.
unlike you planters,
the only pirate today,
just happens to be one of you lot,
pot , kettle , black .
For one thing, the UN continues to list Gibraltar as a territory that needs to be decolonised by the UK. Moreover, under international law, a coloniser cannot legally disrupt the territorial integrity of another State by implanting its own population unto the territory it is colonising.
In cases such as these, the inhabitants of the territory have a right to have their ‘interests’ considered but they have no right to unilaterally determine the nationality of the land they live in.
Both the UN and ICJ have confirmed that the principle of territorial integrity complements and constrains the right to self-determination in cases such as Gibraltar.
The UN has repeatedly invited the UK to participate in discussions to achieve the de-colonisation of Gibraltar.
Unfortunately, the UK continues to rely on a discredited interpretation of the principle of self-determination to turn a deaf ear to those requests in a clearly self-serving way.
Why don't you 40 million squatters in Argentina go back to Spain or ltaly?
The same to you, XAVIERA, go home!
@12 Beetlegoose,
You Argentines are ALL lmplanted, hypocrite! Go home to mother Spain.
I agree. Independence is the best long-term solution. Gibraltar needs to negotiate with the UK and Spain to get the best deal possible, probably something like Andorra.
@10
The Guardia Civil arrested British citizens in British Gibraltar territorial waters for a non-existent crime. Who are the pirates there?
@12
Betelgeuse/FB/Franco Martinez. Go and find a Diego Garcia blog.
The more that Spain is pushed aside and the more the royal navy comes out into the so called “ territorial waters” the nastier it going to get.
@13 don´t talk to loud but The UK just entered into a recession and with the Olympic games and the fiasco with security the 3000 military wages
as these Olympic games will be the most militancy in world history it will cost a little but who cares even when the average person is poorer in Britain. www.abc.uk/news/education-15242103.
Isolde nice to see you too!! hope your not unemployed.
@16 In a new move, a 200 mile radius area of “spain” will be declared to be British territory. “Mad” whatever it was called, will be reduced to a “Guernica” look-alike. As a piece of guidance to the cesspit (argieland), 200 miles of Spain can be turned into a wasteland. No change there. It's already a wasteland. How to dissuade Spain. Draft in Gurkhas and start lopping heads. A football tournament. How far can you kick a Spanish head off Gibraltar? Who cares? Just as long as you can kick it and feel the squish!
Don't be so gruesome.
But l must add that my teenage son loves your posts, the bloodthirsty little grub!
@16 argentine sunshine,
l've had many jobs & been in successful businesses so l no longer have to do paid work.
l think that l work harder now that l'm semi-retired!
And your good self, still living in sunny Spain, l take it?
You probably don’t remember, but the gates of Gibraltar were shut for decades,
And only opened after the last Spanish omelette fried over,
Again its the Spanish attitude you seem to be forgetting,
They are the bad guys , just like the Argies, bad guys ,
Your bias has obviously blinded you to the obvious. Argentina, unlike Gibraltar and the Falklands, is not a colony. Both Gibraltar and the Falklands are listed as territories that still need to be de-colonised by the UK.
Who cares what you or Argentina think?
Argentina brutaly conquered Patagonia with much bloodshed.
Ergo: Patagonia is an Argentine colony & Argentina is a colonialist nation. The Argentines living in Patagonia are “implanted”.
lt doesn't matter that they are joined in one piece, that was just handy for you.
Argentina would like to annex more land & would if they thought that they could get away with it.
l would be interested on what basis you base your ridiculous “claims” to South Georgia & British Antarctica.
As for your remarks about the Falklands, WE, NOT YOU, will decide what form of Government that WE, NOT YOU, will have.
lf we want to be a colony, we will & its got nothing to do with you or Argentina.
Your reference to Argentina's colonial past is simply a red herring designed to obfuscate the issues?
The British also brutally conquered Australia with much bloodshed. They also slaughtered the Tasmanian Aboriginals to the point of extinction. These facts may be true but like your comment about Argentina's colonial past, are completely irrelevant to whether the UK should de-colonise Gibraltar and the Falklands - two existing colonial enclaves listed by the UN.
You're wasting your time wishing that the world should turn a blind eye to the UK's anachronistic attempt to hold on to the last vestiges of its long gone colonial empire.
No red herrings, simply fact.
Argentina DID colonise Patagonia with much bloodshed & continues to occupy it.
Argentina is thus a colonial country.
And you have the gall to demand our country & say that it is a colony.
l couldn't care less about the UK's colonial past.
That is not the subject here.
What we are talking about is your colonialist country wants to colonise my country & you will lie, whine & complain to get it.
You don't seem to be able to give me a reason why you think Argentina “owns” South Georgia & British Antarctica.
Remember that “because we want them” is not a good enough reason.
And FYI, I've been told that “beetlegoose” is the way to pronounce Betelgeuse. l used to say be'tel'goo'eese.
So you don't have to try to be a smartass with my name.
First of all, I'm not an Argentine. That's just a (wrong) assumption on your part. Secondly, while you may have a right to live in the Falklands, as a colonist living in a colonial enclave, you do not have a legal right to determine the nationality of the land you live in. As previously mentioned, the past status of Argentina or any other now independent nation is irrelevant to the current colonial status of the Falklands.
By the way, I will refer to you by your correct username when you do me the courtesy of referring to me by my correct username. Your claim about correct pronunciation is just another smart-ass, lame excuse and you know it.
So I take it that you Argentines' don't have a right to determine your nationality as you are living in a colonial enclave created by European colonialism?
Well it seems that l was wrong.
lts not beetlegoose, its pronounced beetlejooz.
Encyclopedia Americana 1975 volume 3, page 626.
Stupid name, why not call it Be'tel'gu'eese.
So l guess you'll have to be beetlejuice from now on, smartass.
l couldn't care less whether you're Argentine or not, you've identified with their cause, therefore you are a malvinista & a stupid one at that.
We certainly do have legal & moral rights to be here & we do determine the nationality of OUR land & its got nothing to do with you.
Keep your nose out of our business.
Interesting. They are quite comical froma certain point of view...
I love kids, the things they come out with.
l have 2 boys & 2 girls.
What about you, B_K.?
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