Issues between the UK and Spain on Gibraltar
A few months ago when I was back in the UK the news was being dominated by the current tensions between the UK and Spain over Gibraltar. To my surprise when I recently searched how to issue has developed, I found that it was no better. So it got me thinking to myself, why are two European superpowers disputing in today’s current age? (It may be a sensitive issue to a native Spaniard, and with me being British I have my views but no offence is meant!)
The recent tensions have been caused over a simple fishing dispute. The Gibraltan government laid down concrete blockades in the waters between Gibraltar and Spain. The Gibraltans say that it was to promote marine life in the area by creating an artificial reef. But with the blockades in the water, local Spanish fishermen are no longer able to fish in the disputed waters. In response to the fishing argument Spain held lines between the borders for up to 24 hours for extra security checks. The UK government immediately condemned the action and the British prime minister called his Spanish counterpart for discussions.
There have always been underlying problems between the two countries but it has been getting worse over the last few decades. In 2002 the Spanish government requested that there should be a referendum in Gibraltar about joint sovereignty. The result ended in an overwhelming majority of 97% voting against it, the result never went down well in Spain.
The Gibraltan land has always been of value to do its location in the Mediterranean Sea so over the years it has been owned by many states including Spain, but over the last century it has part of the British Commonwealth. I can understand Spanish attitudes being negative towards Gibraltar due to it being a geographic part of Spain. But the world is a melting pot today and many parts have been colonialized, and with the majority of the population being British I think it needs to be accepted that it’s a British island until the local people vote otherwise.
Darius Jokarzadeh
Fall 2013 SP 100.03 
Hola Darius,
Ha, ha. As a native Spaniard, I can tell you that there is more to the story that what you are narrating here. First of all, Gibraltar was a Spanish territory and it has not belonged to different states. It was Spanish until England, by a war which helped create with Austria and France to control the dynastic house of Spain (War of Succession), “won” the control over the territory (never the seas) of the Peñón (just the Rock). If you read the Treaty of Utrecht from 1714, you will see that many of the problems originating from this issue lie on the fact that Great Britain is still acting as a colonial empire in a time where pirates (thanks God!) are not sent to occupy foreign territories by their queens any longer (Sir Francis Drake has been dead for a while) , and in using the Spanish waters and extending the control over areas of territory which go beyond the rock. During the 20th century , because of an earthquake and an epidemic outbreak, Spain granted Gibraltar people the right (temporarily) to move beyond the initial land to fix their problems. U.K. used that as an excuse to build up an airport (the rock did not have enough land for that). Years after years, U.K. has benefitted from the daily smuggling and the contraband which happens constantly in the waters (not accessible to UK according to the Utrecht). That’s the origin of dispute with Spain and not the land. I do not care about what people from Gibraltar decide (in fact, the true Gibraltar locals no longer exist because U.K. very soon sent the locals away and populated the rock with British, Italians and other European nationalities; no wonder, then that the referendum never does well for Spain!) and that piece of land is not very attractive anyhow. I went there as a child and I found hilarious that the people from Gibraltar speak English with accent from my region (Andalucia) but claim themselves not to be Spanish. Besides, I was a little bit tired of the monkeys jumping on my dad’s car. What I do care about, though, is that Spanish fishermen cannot fish in Spanish waters, that Spanish police have to be constantly checking the waters and exposing their lives due to the hashish smuggling which always happens between Gibraltar and Morocco, and that Spanish people have to pay with their taxes for the increased use of police in these areas. I accept that it is a British land but I do not accept that U.K. allows for the contraband, or has a say on what Spain does with its waters.
As you can see, this is a very delicate and sensitive issue for me. As a native from the south and close to the area (I was born in Cádiz, just a few miles away), I have witnessed beforehand the problems and the resulting frustration.
Oh, it’s not as cold cut as I thought it was! I knew the British media site and sources I used were biased, but there’s obviously a completely different side to it. I’ll have to look into it again with different sources! Thanks 🙂
Don’t mention it. I understand that bias is included in every media but honestly, as a witness of the flagrant smuggling operations which happen daily in Gibraltar, with the permission of UK’s government, I am a little bit tired of how the Treaty of Utrecht is constantly ignored.