MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Spain’s Moratinos defends “the photo of shame” in Gibraltar

Dialogue, cooperation and negotiation, the new three word Spanish strategy for Gibraltar.

Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos defended his visit to Gibraltar on Spain’s Radio Nacional amidst severe criticism mainly from the right wing press. The front page of El Mundo was a banner headline declaring the picture of the three ministers at the top of the Rock as ‘The Photo of Shame’.

The PP Opposition continued to say the visit would bring shame on Spain in the future. La Razon described the visit as ‘Gibraltar shows off its dominions to Moratinos’ and of the Madrid press only El Pais took a similar tone to the regional press saying that those trying to revive nationalist sentiments were out of step with the times.

In his interview with RNE Sr Moratinos said that dialogue, cooperation and negotiation are the formula for the Gibraltar ‘problem’. He defended Spain’s claim but said this should come through agreement with the affected parties adding that he believed a transfer of sovereignty “does not have to wait a very long time, but simply create the conditions so this can be adequately negotiated and with results.”

Moratinos is quoted as saying that “Spanish public opinion has to start to understand the real situation: we (Spain) is claiming a territory but there are more than 20,000 Gibraltarian citizens who will have to accept and approve any agreement made.”

He added that”it is very difficult to win the hearts and minds of the Gibraltarians with confrontation. We have to change that mentality”.

Moratinos reiterated his call to the PP to give confidence and support to the strategy in the way the PSOE supported the Aznar government.

Moratinos repeated the statement he made at the Rock Hotel press conference that the sovereignty claim is “unrenounceable” and said that he had made his call for a Spanish Gibraltar, not in some Spanish city, but face to face with the interlocutors - Britain and Spain.

The remark appears to have been figurative and there is no suggestion that he actually shouted “Gibraltar Español” at the meeting. Moratinos added that in the past sovereignty had been talked about but the issue had not advanced a millimetre whilst “we have advanced kilometres on dialogue and co-operation which can open a door to a definitive solution”.

He believed that the current generation might yet see such a solution but added that the important thing is not to remain stuck.