| Spain protests 300th anniversary of the conquest of Gibraltar Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos called the arrival of British Defense Minister Geoffrey Hoon to Gibraltar an “unfriendly gesture” and accused London of being committed to the imperial past. Mr Hong arrived in the south of the Iberian Peninsula yesterday to attend celebrations marking the 300th anniversary of the conquest of Gibraltar by the Anglo-Dutch fleet during the War of the Spanish Succession. This happened in 1704, and the status of British rule over the strategic strait from the Atlantic to the Mediterranean was consolidated in 1713 by the Peace of Utrecht. The debate over the Rock, as Gibraltar is called by local residents (30 thousand), is endless. In the 8th century, it was captured by the Moors, starting from here the conquest of the Iberian Peninsula. In the 15th century, during the Reconquista, the Spanish expelled the Muslims. For some time, Gibraltar passed from hand to hand among Spanish counts, and in 1501 it became part of the Kingdom of Spain.
In 1967, the inhabitants of Gibraltar renounced Spanish sovereignty in a referendum, and in 1969, the constitution of Gibraltar, legitimizing its connection with Great Britain, proclaimed self-government of the territory. In 2002, 98.97% of Gibraltarians rejected the idea of joint British-Spanish sovereignty in a referendum, preferring British status.
The Spaniards cannot come to terms with the loss of these rocky territories (10 sq. km) and consider Gibraltar theirs. This has repeatedly caused diplomatic complications between London and Madrid. Last Saturday, Mr Moratinos protested to the British ambassador to Spain, Stephen Wright, about Mr Hoon's upcoming trip to Gibraltar, threatening London with retaliatory measures. The unperturbed Foreign Office only complained about the Spanish “excessive emotionality.” The current conflict in Spanish-British relations is the third in a year. In June, a scandal was caused by the visit of the British Princess Anne to Gibraltar, and in July by the docking of the British nuclear submarine Tyrless. Katerina LABETSKAYA |
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