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This section is the responsibility of the Editor and not that of the FOGHSFrom LEAFAR’S DESK Issue No 75OctoberTORPEDO JUAREZ PROTEST
• ‘Keep out of it’ says Opposition
Juan Carlos Juárez, the Mayor of La Línea, vented his anger last weekend on hearing newsthat the Royal Navy was sending a nuclear submarine to Gibraltar as part of the Battle of Trafalgar celebrations next week.“There is growing indignation in the Campo de Gibraltar and specifically in La Linea at theBritish Government’s arrogant attitude and the constant provocation of visits by nuclear powered submarines to these waters,” he said in a statement on Sunday.But Sr Juárez appears to have jumped the gun because according to official British militarysources, there will be no submarine visit next week.The root of the misunderstanding is a press advisory notice issued by Headquarters BritishForces last week, in which a visit to an SSN’ - military speak for a nuclear submarine – wastentatively pencilled in.Were it not for the sensitivities north of the border, it would have been a simple media trip:a visit to a Trafalgar class submarine to mark the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Trafalgar.Yesterday, a second statement from HQBF tried to clear the air of controversy.“A prominent politician in the Campo de Gibraltar has suggested that a British nuclear submarine will arrive in Gibraltar on 28th October,” the statement said.“The Ministry of Defence wishes to confirm that no submarine visits to Gibraltar areenvisaged to commemorate the Battle of Trafalgar.”OPPOSITION ANGER While that clarification from the British MoD might help to ease concerns in the Campo deGibraltar, it came too late to stop political reaction in Gibraltar to the La Línea mayor’scomments.“Sr Juarez appears to be incapable of understanding that the frontier between Gibraltar andLa Linea is an international frontier demarcating the national sovereignty between hiscountry and ours,” said the GSLP/Liberal opposition in a statement.“Spanish territory ends at La Linea and British territory commences and applies from themoment that people show their passport and exit Spain.”“Clearly, if such considerations apply as regards the area of the frontier and the airportwhere British military aircraft come and go as they please without having to seek the permission of Spain (notwithstanding the Spanish myth that the isthmus belongs to Spain)it applies with even greater strength and logic to visits by British naval vessels of whatever type to the naval base.”“The British military presence in Gibraltar and the use of British military facilities inGibraltar is a matter entirely for the people of Gibraltar and the British Government and hasnothing to do with Sr Juarez simply because he happens to be near us.”“Just like we in Gibraltar do not interfere in the visits that may be made by warships atnearby Spanish ports, including American nuclear powered vessels.”And in a statement bound to rankle with the Spanish mayor, the opposition alliance alsoquestioned Sr Juárez’s sense of history.“It may interest the Mayor of La Linea to know that Gibraltar was not obtained as a resultof the Battle of Trafalgar,” the GSLP/Liberal statement said.“It was already under British control 100 years before then.”“The British military presence in Gibraltar was of great assistance to Spain whenthey were in the process if being conquered by Napoleon.”“Indeed, if the British had not intervened to defend Spain against domination by France,who knows whether the Spanish nation might have ended up under French control to thisday.”“In which case we would have found ourselves with a better neighbour than the one wehave had to put up with for the last 300 years.” NELSON’S SUB?In his statement this weekend, the Mayor of La Línea asked himself why the Britishmilitary would want to bring a nuclear submarine to Gibraltar as part of the Trafalgar celebrations.
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“As far as we know, there were no submarines in that battle, let alone nuclear ones,” hesaid.Technically speaking he is, of course, correct, but new documents have surfaced suggestingthat submarines were very much on Horatio Nelson’s mind prior to that famous battle atsea.According to an article in the Sunday Times, those documents show that Admiral Lord Nelson “held secret talks at Downing Street on sinking Napoleon’s ships with submarines,mines and rockets.”“The plan involved towing the mines, referred to as “infernal machines”, across theChannel on high-speed catamarans and then detonating them beneath the French vessels,”the article reported.The weapons meeting in Downing Street was also attended by Robert Fulton, a pioneer insubmarine design.“Fulton gave the meeting expert advice on the use of catamaran-mounted torpedoes,” thenewspaper article stated.“Previously he had designed the first “submarine boat”, the Nautilus, in Paris, but when heapproached Napoleon’s ministry of the marine with a plan to blockade the mouth of theThames with them, it scornfully dismissed him.”“Fulton crossed secretly to England, where he demonstrated his design to [prime minister]Pitt.”Details of the meeting have been published in a new biography of the admiral by Roger Knight, visiting professor of naval history at Greenwich University.Mr Knight told the Sunday Times that Nelson’s interest in new weapons, which came toolate to affect Trafalgar, stemmed from his worries that the war against Napoleon was near deadlock.
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‘NO NEGOTIATION ON GIB’S FUTURE’ – EUROPE MINISTER
There are currently no negotiations between the UK and Spain on the future of Gibraltar.That is the position as stated in the House of Commons by Europe Minister DouglasAlexander.Mr Alexander said that the Trilateral Forum, created through a joint statement by theGovernments of Spain, the United Kingdom and Gibraltar on 16 December 2004 gives anequal voice for all three parties to discuss matters relating to Gibraltar. Any party may raiseany issue relating to Gibraltar in this forum, he said.He added that so far, the forum has concentrated on areas of possible local co-operation,including expanded use of the airport, telephones, pensions and problems at the border.
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Airport and telecommunications raised at Gibraltar Day in London
IMPROVED RELATIONS WITH SPAIN GOOD FOR ECONOMY – CARUANA
By Alice Mascarenhas from London
“There has been a significant thawing in relations between Gibraltar and Spain where it islikely that an early fruit of this process will be agreements that will allow more extensiveuseful and international air services connections with the Gibraltar Airport
, and also theresolution of some
current difficulties in telecommunications,” Chief Minister Peter Caruana announced to businessmen, accountants, lawyers, property developers and financecentre players, at the start of Gibraltar Day in London yesterday.Mr Caruana also stated that the Gibraltar Government expected these agreements to be positive for the economy of the Rock.The setting for his speech was the now traditional Finance Centre lunch hosted by the Chief Minister at the Royal Automobile Club, where many of Gibraltar’s top businessmen and professionals were also present.Mr Caruana made clear Gibraltar continued to be engaged in negotiations with the UK tofurther modernise the Rock’s constitution, eliminating from it the last vestiges of colonialism, but at the same time reassuringly stating that Gibraltar would retain its Britishsovereignty and close constitutional links with Britain, as an overseas British territoryenjoying the maximum degree of self government.Earlier he had spoken of how Gibraltar enjoyed a highly developed and much respected
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professional infrastructure, where he asserted that the Rock’s lawyers, bankers andaccountants “think and create globally” whilst being constantly innovate with new servicesand opportunities tailor-made for different industries and different purposes in differentcountries.Mr Caruana assured that despite the challenges posed by the EU Taxation of SavingsDirective, the banking sector continued to grow and to diversify.“It now employs some 700 people and we continue to welcome important newcomers.”Mr Caruana said that insurance and insurance intermediation was the fastest growing sector – enjoying EU single market passporting rights. Locally licensed insurance companies havegrown from 13 to 45 in just four years. A new sector too is the pan-European Pension,where the government expects a golden opportunity. The Chief Minister pointed to newlegislation which would allow Gibraltar to become an efficient jurisdiction of choice toestablish corporate pan-European corporate pension schemes. He also briefly mentionedthe intended establishment of a stock exchange, which he said would be backed byimportant EU financial institutions,These diversifications, away from the traditional brass plates and simple depositing business, to all of these much more sophisticated, and creative skills based financialservices, according to Mr Caruana, have been instrumental in the huge and successfulrepositioning of Gibraltar’s finance centre over the last 10 years, into what he described as“a truly on-shore off-shore international and European finance centre.”Mr Caruana was confident that as world markets had increasingly globalised, the Gibraltar government had also ensured that the Rock remained at the forefront of EU andinternational standards of legislation, anti-money laundering and serious crime.Gibraltar he insisted valued its good working partnership with multilateral bodies such asthe IMF, OECD and FATF, but at the same time, he added, remained committed to fiscalcompetitiveness and to respect for bona fide privacy and confidentiality.IMF TO VISITMeanwhile he announced that Gibraltar had agreed to a further IMF assessment in Marchnext year.Mr Caruana then spoke of the deficiency in drafting which had raised some doubt amongsome EU member states as to whether Gibraltar companies were intended to -benefit fromthree EU directives in relation to - Parents and Subsiduaries, Mergers and Acquisitions, andInternet and Royalties, which the EU has now confirmed would also apply fully toGibraltar.Mr Caruana concluded that Gibraltar would continue to welcome financial services providers.“Those who share our vision of the importance of high standards and reputation; we willcontinue to be innovative in the legislative framework that provides new opportunities for our finance centre; we will remain committed to the principle of No or Low tax, and withthe help of so many leading financial services institutions provide an environment, for thesafe and prosperous provision of financial services throughout the EU and the world,” hereiterated.
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