MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

A whacking NO from the Rock

An overwhelming majority of Gibraltar's electorate 98,97% voted this Thursday against the principle of Joint Sovereignty for the British colony. Only 187 people, 1,03% voted “Yes” to a British-Spanish sharing of the future of the Rock.

According to "Gibraltar Chronicle" a total 18,177 votes were cast in the referendum, equivalent to 87,92% of registered voters. The number compares favourably with recent general elections, the highest of which was 87,70% in 1996. However it does not compare favourably with the previous referendum in 1967 when turnout reached 95% of the population. The question put to voters was, "Do you approve of the principle that Britain and Spain should share sovereignty over Gibraltar?"

In his victory speech Gibraltar's Chief Minister Peter Caruana said: "Fellow Gibraltarians, today we have sent a clear message to the world... one, that this is our homeland; two, that we are a people with political rights that we will not give up; and three, that those rights include the right to freely direct our own future and we will certainly not give that up".

In London Britain's Europe Minister Dennis McShane said the result came as "no surprise", adding that "many on the Rock have long had serious concerns about a dialogue with Spain".

"I understand that and will continue to listen to people's views. But the fact remains that there can be no stable future for Gibraltar while the dispute with Spain continues and important issues remain unresolved" said Minister McShane. However he pointed out that the UK Government's commitment not to change Gibraltar's status without the consent of the people in a referendum, but said there were no proposals to alter its sovereignty on the table.

Gibraltar's Chief Minister Peter Caruana voted at 11:00 in the morning surrounded by local and international press. "It is," he declared, "a very important day for Gibraltar." Leader of the Opposition Joe Bossano voted at 12 noon, again surrounded by the media and said he was confident the result was going to meet "our highest expectations". Mr Bossano added that when Gibraltar looks back on this day he had no doubt that it would be a turning point in the Rock's history.

"The last Referendum, called by London (in 1967), was the people of Gibraltar responding to London. This is the people of Gibraltar standing up to the Government in London and supporting their elected representatives in the Parliament of Gibraltar, which is what it is going to be called in the New Constitution," he said. A total of 27 observers were present at the 12 Voting Stations and one Observer in each Voting Station when the boxes were sealed.

One of the outstanding figures present in Gibraltar during the voting was Alonso Rojas, Mayor of Los Caminos, a Spanish neighbouring location, who stressed that cooperation with Spain was more important than sovereignty. "Besides the result, which I find will be very predictable I think it is very correct that Gibraltar should be holding its own referendum. It is a process which Mr Blair and Sr Aznar have instigated by launching the Brussels talks which, in the opinions of the Gibraltarians have failed."

"The referendum is not closing the door to dialogue, but dialogue on Gibraltar should be less about sovereignty and more about cooperation between the Rock and its neighbours. It is clear that to talk about Gibraltar's sovereignty, you must consult with the Gibraltarians- this is a logical and legitimate point of view".

Europe Minister responds to Government of Gibraltar Referendum result

Europe Minister Denis MacShane said:

'The result of the Gibraltar Government's referendum comes as no surprise.

'Many on the Rock have long had serious concerns about a dialogue with Spain. I understand that, and will continue to listen to people's views. But the fact remains that there can be no stable future for Gibraltar while the dispute with Spain continues and important issues remain unresolved.

'We have always made clear that there will be no change to Gibraltar's sovereignty without the consent of the people of Gibraltar in a referendum. There are no such proposals on the table.'