Gibraltar: a flirtation with Spain

Press, 17 September 1976, Page 5

Gibraltar: a flirtation with Spain

Gibraltar! For the first time in Gibraltar's 263 years as a British! colony, voices are being, heard calling for a deal with! Spain. In the colony’s General Election at the end of! this month, a deal is being urged by three candidates, writes Joe Garcia of the London “Sunday Times.” One of them is a barrister,; Mr J. E. Triay. When he! first talked publicly eight, years ago about a possible link-up with Spain, there, was a riot. There is no riot-; ing now. Another lawyer, Mr Eric; Ellul, wants to start with an economic, cultural and commercial arrangement with Spain, and says a political

(settlement would follow nat-, 'urally in a few years’ time. ' A third candidate, Mr! i Mesod Benady, a wealthy, ;i businessman, says: “The 1 i writing is on the wall. If we: ar p to be raped we might as well lie back and enjoy it by ; getting the best terms.” Whatever luck these three, • have at the polls, they will not be troubled bv a party; at the other extreme — the. Integration With Britain: Partv. Seven years ago, when; Spain was putting a stran- . glehold on Gibraltar, this, party gained power on aj policy of making the four-' mile-long territory British forever, with members of; the Westminster Parliament at Westminster. j

■| But this summer Britain i made clear that such an idea .was dead, and now the in■itegration party has dis-' :! solved. People are wondering howl 11 much longer Britain will be ■j prepared to cling on to this I Empire outpost, with its ■population of 29.000. The naval base is costing Britain 7 1 more than £I2OM a year, but : official sources indicate that I there are no British plans to (pull out. Sir Joshua Hassan, who has been Gibraltar’s Chief .Minister for nine of the past d 12 years, is standing for re-: ' election at the head of his Gibraltar Labour Party. It stands firmly for maintain-, ing a distinct Gibraltarian' lidentity. 1