EDITOR'S BLOG JULY 23RD 2012
It’s Hot and it’s getting hotter!
Not just talking about the weather and the temperature, but talking about the escalating situation that, like it or not, will affect us all very shortly. Last week, including the weekend, there were several incidents that have resulted in the increasing tensions between Gibraltar and Spain. The end result, the Foreign Office has even got involved now and released a statement against Spain.
So let’s look at the incidents, two Gibraltar vessels have been “targeted” by Spanish authorities. The first, which seemed to be an exclusive story in the Panorama, describes how a family enjoying the day out on their boat for the cavalcade, in Spanish waters, were approached by the Guardia Civil, were spoken to in an aggressive manner and decided to try to outrun the Spanish authorities (in Spanish waters) and get back to Gibraltar.
Now just a quick note. We are lucky to live in Gibraltar and be next door to Spain at this point. Other countries authorities wouldn’t have been anywhere near as nice as to use Rubber Bullets when opening fire at this point. If police demand that you stop, regardless of the country, or what you think they might do to you, you MUST stop!
Don’t take this the wrong way; I am in NO WAY condoning the actions of the Spanish Para-Military, nor their incursions in to Gibraltar. However I do think that we need to roll straight dice and take these issues to the European court, not start running away from the Spanish authorities, which in turn makes us look like guilty parties try to evade the police.
The second issue occurred over the weekend, when two fishermen, who were reportedly in Gibraltar waters, were approached by Guardia Civil again, reference fishing permits for Tuna (sources say) and upon feeling threatened, roared up the engines, called the RGP and bolted back to Gibraltar. Unfortunately they didn’t make it, and were stopped and taken to Algeciras.
Again, I am in NO WAY condoning the Guardia Civil’s actions, but we must be whiter than white and hold our hands up in the European Court saying we have done everything by the book and look how they treat us. At the moment, when we go to court, the territorial waters will be the main issues, only belittled by the Spanish Officials being able to say that as they approached the vessel it tried to out run them… Trying to out run police makes anyone look guilty, plain and simple.
I personally have suffered at the hands of the Spanish Authorities, although my issue was with the Policia Local ten years ago. I was arrested for drink driving (I was young, I know it was wrong) I was then given a good hiding for 5 hours and released, with my car being confiscated and a large fine being imposed. It taught me a lesson.
I however did not to try to run away from them in my car, thinking if I can get back to Gibraltar I will be ok. We cannot work on that principle every time as eventually some body will get hurt.
The Foreign Office are now involved and I worry about how quickly a situation like this could escalate. We need to find democratic solutions, we must rise above the Spanish and we must show that we follow the laws and are treated unfairly; otherwise it won’t mean a thing in the long run.
Scrawled with a quill by Eddie!
