Oct 14 Opposition Respond To Chief Ministers Remarks in the UN
Whilst welcoming that part of the Chief Minister’s intervention in the US dealing with the 2006 Constitution and the Cordoba Agreement, the GSD questions the appropriateness of his far too generalised and indiscriminate comments regarding the campaign of hatred against the people of Gibraltar, only weeks before he is to hold talks with the Spanish Government.
As Gibraltar’s Chief Minister, Mr Picardo should at all times distinguish, between the Government of Spain on the one hand and the Spanish nation and media on the other. There are many people in Spain who have been critical of the way the PP Government has dealt with Gibraltar and the Chief Minister himself has made good use of his TV appearances, newspaper and radio interviews in Spain to defend Gibraltar’s position.
He should have made it clear that he was not insinuating that acts of vandalism perpetrated by individuals against individual Gibraltarians, or material produced by individuals or groups on the internet in Spain, however obscene, necessarily represent the majority view in Spain, or receives the support of the majority of Spanish political organisations. On the contrary, he indicated that these actions were the result of a concerted and unrelenting official campaign.
The GSD also considers that the charge of terrorism by Denis Mathews of the SDGG is particularly inopportune, unrestrained and rash, and it is insensitive to the differences in views that have emerged within Spain on Gibraltar over the last few months. We call on the Government to confirm whether or not Mr. Mathews attended the UN at public expense.
Daniel Feetham, the Leader of the Opposition said: “The Chief Minister must have been aware that his declared intention and that of the UK Government to resolve our differences with our neighbours, through ad hoc talks and diplomacy, will not have been assisted by his unqualified comments. They have antagonised political opinion of all parts of the political spectrum in Spain, which is not in our interests. It will certainly not contribute to the improvement of cross-border relations and normality”.
“The Government must keep its head”.
