MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

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  GeoffWard

  A heart-warming story of friendship and harmony between a continental nation and its island neighbour.
  
  Both Andalucia and Gibralter can benefit from enhanced tourism and business enterprises now old tensions have been relegated to the wastepaper basket of history.

  Mar 12th, 2011 - 06:27 pm - Link - Report abuse 0
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  Bill Luxton

  What a shame the Argentines cant learn something from the Spanish and recognise that the people of the Falkland Islands also have a right to exist and be prepared to discuss issues of mutual interest instead of trying to cripple our economy at every turn.

  Mar 12th, 2011 - 07:40 pm - Link - Report abuse 0
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  briton

  Perhaps even more of Spain would like to join with Gibraltar,
  for friendship or trade, or even be persuaded that being British is better than being Spanish, funnier things have happened ??

  Mar 12th, 2011 - 11:11 pm - Link - Report abuse 0
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  Martin_Fierro

  “A heart-warming story of friendship and harmony between a continental nation and its island neighbour.”
  
  “or even be persuaded that being British is better than being Spanish”
  
  If someone were to tell me comments like these were being made I wouldn't believe it until I saw it with my own eyes. There is no way to measure the amount of stupidity coming from you people.
  
  And what a horribly shameful stand for Spain to be on, letting a pirate nation have control of its land. Gibraltar isn't even an island, it's a SPANISH STATE. How this is allowed to continue defies all logic.
  
  If you think the people of Spain support this crap or feel like being British is better than being Spanish, your mental state is far worst than I could have ever imagined. And that's not a derogatory comment, that's a fact.
  
  Clearly no Spaniards are reading this article.

  Mar 13th, 2011 - 01:11 am - Link - Report abuse 0
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  GeoffWard

  Martin (#4), you are confused and responding emotionally to a little tease by briton #3.
  
  This initiative is a transfer of regional and bi-lateral activity TO THE PEOPLE via their local leaders, so as to not just rely on the official tri-lateral forum.
  
  Gibraltar has been variously part of Carthegenia (Africa), Rome, the Visigoths, the Moors (Africa), Spain, the English, the Dutch, etc.
  
  During the 20th century, The Spanish Fascist dictator Franco claimed Gibraltar via the United Nations after the Spanish Civil War (Military dictators tend to do this), under the aegis of decolonization. Fascist Spain's position was supported by Latin American countries but was rejected by Britain and the Gibraltarians themselves, who vigorously asserted the Gibraltese right to self-determination.
  
  You are just dead wrong when you say that Gibraltar is a Spanish State:
  
  Under the historic pan-European Treaty of Utrecht, 1713, territorial exchanges were agreed, among them the ceding of the town, fortifications and port of Gibraltar (but not its hinterland) to Britain “for ever, without any exception or impediment whatsoever.” The treaty also stipulated that if Britain was ever to dispose of Gibraltar it would first have to offer the territory to Spain (*).
  
  As the last of these clauses (*) has never been invoked, the Utrecht Agreement pertains.

  Mar 13th, 2011 - 11:37 am - Link - Report abuse 0
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