Gibraltar celebrates, Spain fumes
GIBRALTAR -- Thousands of Gibraltarians celebrated 300 years of British rule by forming a human chain around "the Rock" while Spain fumed over the presence of a British minister.
Some 12,000 people, dressed in Gibraltar's colors of red and white and waving British "Union Jack" flags, linked hands, encircling the Rock in a symbol of unity.
Wednesday was the highpoint of year-long celebrations marking the 300th anniversary of Gibraltar's occupation by an Anglo-Dutch force in 1704.
The celebrations have raised tension between Britain and Spain over the tiny British colony on the Spanish southern coast over which Madrid seeks to recover sovereignty.
Spain has protested to Britain over the presence of Defence Secretary Geoff Hoon at Wednesday's celebrations, calling it the latest of a series of "unfriendly gestures" that included a recent trip to Gibraltar by Britain's Princess Anne and a visit by British nuclear submarine HMS Tireless.
Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos said Wednesday that Britain's eagerness to celebrate demonstrated a "clear lack of sensitivity" by London.
"No one can deny the people of Gibraltar the right to commemorate their own history... However, we would have expected an exercise in self-control on the part of the British government," Moratinos wrote in El Pais newspaper.
Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero also joined the controversy Wednesday.
"Neither the government nor the immense majority of Spanish society thinks what we have seen is appropriate," he said, in what Spanish media said was a reference to London's conduct.
"But, I insist, we have a 300-year-old problem and we have to tackle it with care, calm and with dialogue," he told reporters as he arrived in the island of Menorca for a holiday.
Gibraltar Chief Minister Peter Caruana insisted Gibraltar had a perfect right to celebrate its history.
"We are not celebrating any... battle, nor the defeat of one side or the victory of the other," he said in an interview with Spain's Cadena Ser radio.
"We are celebrating our history and the 300 years of our history with the United Kingdom."
Royal Navy honored
Hoon did not join in the human chain but did attend a session of Gibraltar's House of Assembly, or parliament, which passed a motion conferring the "freedom of the city," the colony's highest honor, on Britain's Royal Navy which has long defended the territory.
Some 300 Navy personnel will exercise that right by marching through the town, with fixed bayonets, on Wednesday evening.
The parliament passed a second motion, pledging to resist any negotiations "against the wishes of the people of Gibraltar, for the transfer to Spain of any part of the sovereignty of Gibraltar."
 Hoon in Gibraltar Tuesday with his wife and an unidentified senior Royal Navy officer. |  |
Michael Ancram, foreign affairs spokesman for Britain's Conservative Party, told BBC Radio: "This is a very important moment in Gibraltar's history -- 300 years of being British, which is rather longer than it was ever Spanish."
"It's absolutely right that we now celebrate with them those 300 years and once again reiterate that they will remain British so long as that is their wish," he said.
Spain has long demanded the return of the strategic strip of land.
London and Madrid came close to a deal on joint sovereignty in 2002, but it collapsed following an unofficial referendum showing 99 percent of Gibraltarians were opposed to the change.
Envoy summoned
Tensions flared last week when Britain announced Hoon would visit the tiny territory.
Madrid summoned the British ambassador to protest but Hoon went ahead with the visit which began Monday.
A visit last month by Princess Anne, Queen Elizabeth's daughter, also sparked outrage in the Spanish media and prompted PM Zapatero's government to complain to the British ambassador.
Zapatero, elected in March, has described a visit by British nuclear submarine HMS Tireless last month as the incident which most displeased him during his first 100 days in office.
In London, Britain's minister for Europe Denis MacShane met Spain's new ambassador and discussed topics including Gibraltar.
A Foreign Office spokesman told Reuters the talks were "relaxed and friendly" and the two agreed, informally, on the need to discuss issues, including Gibraltar, in a calm and quiet manner.
We would have expected an exercise in self-control on the part of the British government.
