Recent News

28th December 2007 - Irrational Exuberance

The Irrational Exuberance , which was, after it's arrest and held in custody, berthed at the detached mole, was yesterday, despite expert's advise as a very unwise decision, moved to the No.5 Jetty at the North Mole where it sunk at around 8.00pm.

22nd December 2007 - New Flame

The semi-sunken cargo ship 'New Flame (click here to watch video clip), which the Government had been trying to find ways of either sinking or re floating since the 12th August when it collided with the Danish petrol tanker 'Torm Gertud, and which had since become to be one of the many tourist attractions Gibraltar has to offer, has today started started to sink on it's own accord and without government intervention.

Experts predict that, should present weather conditions prevail, it will sink completely within the next few days.

In an impromptu press conference, the Chief Minister informed that following heavily prolonged bad weather the vessel had broken up into two.

(Bad weather is nothing new during the winter months)

20th December 2007 - Iberia Flights

It appears that the Spanish airline 'Iberia' is still not aware that Gibraltar is neither in Spain nor part of Spain.

Under National flights it lists the Campo de Gibraltar amongst the destinations available, Campo de Gibraltar is the Spanish terminology for the towns close to Gibraltar, like Algeciras, San Roque, La Linea, etc.

Non of the so called Campo de Gibraltar towns have an airport, the closest and only airport to the Campo de Gibraltar is Gibraltar, which is British and has been so over 300 years.

Portugal and other European destinations are listed under Europe, yet Gibraltar is not listed under Europe.

(Of course, as we all know, the GIbraltar government is proceeding with building a new airport, which is costing in the region of £30,000,000.

Will the new airport remain being the Gibraltar airport, or will it, following unknown agreements made under the Cordoba done-deal, be renamed to The Campo de Gibraltar airport?)

20th December 2007 - JOE BOSSANO, CHRISTMAS MESSAGE 2007

THE VALUE OF FAMILY

Good evening

We are now at the start of a new Parliament, recently elected, where the party in government held on to office by the narrowest of margins.

In this, my 10th general election and the 31st year of our party, we have seen how strong our grass roots membership is, right across Gibraltarian families. This is,  especially so, in respect of those families that come from everyday working  backgrounds, But also true, of all other sectors of our society, from those in our community, whose love for this Rock of ours, has always made them determined, to make sure, that our homeland will never, ever, fall into Spanish hands.

Clearly we have many differences in policies, value judgments and viewpoints, with the party in power.

In 2006 I reminded you of one of these. Remember how I said the real test of whether the new Constitution decolonises Gibraltar would come this year at the UN? Immediately after the election we saw, UK, once again, subscribing to the same, annual discredited, text on Gibraltar's future, as it was doing under the previous Constitution. Just as we had predicted would be the case.

We have seen only this week, on the 25th anniversary of the pedestrian opening of the frontier gates by Spain, how the proposed Cervantes Institute of Gibraltar is being trumpeted as more than a mere cultural event. In Spain it is described as the spearhead of the new campaign to Hispanicise Gibraltarians. Already they are triumphantly proclaiming that we are on the road to a Spanish Gibraltar and they haven't even opened shop yet!

There will be many occasions in the year ahead to remind you that our analysis has been right on a whole range of issues but tonight I want to use this political broadcast to share my thoughts with you on the family.

The traditional Gibraltarian Christmas has always been a family gathering. When I was a small boy, many years ago, that meant all my aunts, uncles and cousins coming together in a huge family feast.

Even though today's families come in many more shapes and sizes, the fundamental point is to understand the meaning and the value of the concept.

Being family, is about belonging to a place which is your home.

Being family, is about the bonds that unite a group of people.

Being family, is about caring for and looking after each other, accepting those whom we love the way they are and not seeking to impose one's own ideas or preferences on them.

The GSLP is therefore more than a political party. It is a huge family made up of hundreds of small units interlinked by ties of a shared lifetime of political and trade union work, looking after the interests of our people, our people and our Country.

The bedrock of this family and of our way of life has been the solidarity and mutual help that ordinary families provided to each other, when wages were not as high as they became after parity.

It was also that same sentiment that many family businesses in Gibraltar had, as employers. A sense of loyalty to their employees, which was reflected in going beyond their legal obligations to help them out in their time of need.

Or the way in which neighbours rallied around whenever a household in their community was going through a bad patch.

All these thoughts that I share with you tonight will be very familiar to many of you. To others it may seem that I am talking about a world that no longer exists.

Do we want those special qualities to survive? The qualities that make us “The Gibraltarians”. That great family which we have always been. If we do, then we need to be conscious that it is this which makes Gibraltar the wonderful place it is.

 When you have something that is worthwhile and precious you must be prepared to defend it and preserve it.

I know many of our young people feel 100% Gibraltarian. That they are wholly committed to their homeland and that they show this every National Day when we proclaim to the world, who we are.

 However, it will not always be so if the trends we have seen in the last 11 years continue unchecked.

The lack of homes for young families that makes them go across the border.

The waste of our university graduates in whose education we invest millions and then fail to provide them with the opportunity to use their knowledge back here, at home.

The erosion of the job opportunities in the public sector, with labour being imported. The multiplicity of so called experts brought in at very expensive rates, to teach us how to do things, in ways that have failed where they come from. These are all symptoms of the threat to the cohesion and the strength of the overall Gibraltarian family.

We have criticised these tendencies and have committed ourselves to policies to redress them, which regrettably did not win sufficient votes for us to have become your government in October.

 However, I can promise you one thing. The commitment to Gibraltar and its people is the very foundation stone on which the GSLP was founded 31 years ago and the philosophy to which I have devoted two thirds of my life. That will never change. We will be there whenever Gibraltar needs us and I shall continue to be ready to serve every individual that approaches me with a personal problem, irrespective of their political allegiance, as I have done in the 35 years you have voted for me.

With those thoughts I wish you a very happy Christmas with your loved ones and friends on behalf of Rose, myself and my party.

Good night.

23rd November 2007 - Article published in VOX Newspaper

When, last year, this newspaper pointed to the dangers inherent in the proposed Police Act (2006) and the risks of allowing any Executive extensive control of the police - a body whose duty is to all sections of the community - we were accused of inaccurate sensationalism and news-mongering of the worst possible sort. Our warnings went largely unheeded; however a series of recent events point to the heavy-handedness which we feared might develop not only having gained a foothold in the Royal Gibraltar Police but in some aspects becoming almost institutionalised.

Effectively silenced

One of the first signs of this - and little more at the time than a straw blowing in the wind - was the move to silence and remove a lone protester who had struggled to the Upper Rock and attempted to unfurl a less than welcoming banner with which to greet the party of Spanish amigos accompanied by the Chief Minister on a triumphal visit to Gibraltar marking the arrival here of Iberia's first flight. The man, slightly built and neither an Arnold Schwarznegger nor a Sylvester Stalone, posed no threat to the official cavalcade...yet his lone voice was effectively silenced.

What happened to one of the basic cornerstones of democracy - his right to freedom of speech? Yet hardly a voice was raised in protest at his treatment or in defence of his rights. And there lies the rub. No-one complained. And, such is the human condition that if an initial transgression goes unremarked and unquestioned the offence comes increasingly more easily the second, third and fourth time.

This is as true of the behaviour of criminals as it is of that of the police, and its sets the pattern for a gradual erosion of the freedoms we have come to cherish as part of the democratic fabric. So no-one should have been surprised when, less than a month ago, the RGP Commissioner Louis Wink intervened personally with threats of arrest in a demonstration of St John Ambulance staff who were protesting outside St Bernard's Hospital. Police and ambulance staff have always worked closely and harmoniously, so it is hardly surprising that the threats and a substantial police presence upset and traumatized some of the ambulance staff.

And the bad taste which this clash left was still strongly alive when on Friday a week ago a disabled and impoverished local man went public with his grievances and difficulties in Main Street and was first threatened by the police and, when the following day he insisted on his right to free speech was arrested - allegedly for a speeding offence four years ago. His sign read "No social assistance,. No disability benefit. No allowance. Abandoned by Government. Forced to busk."

THREATENED WITH ARREST

Harmless. Hurting no-one. And certainly no more of a threat to our social order and well-being than that of the normal chaotic bustle of Main Street's pedestrian crowds. But he claims he was told that it was "illegal to show the sign", that he was picketing and demonstrating without permission and that if he did not remove the sign he would be arrested. Just who are the police serving in such a situation? Whose orders are the Jobsworth bobbies on the beat obeying?

Yesterday came the most serious allegation of all from the Equality Rights Group GGR who lamented the lack of a sympathetic response from the Police Commissioner to their concerns over what they believe is "a slow trend of increasing homophobic violence and harassment" - a situation which they say the Commissioner refused to acknowledge and was unwilling to explore positive ways forward.

In a society dominated by Roman Catholicism - a religion which abhors non-heterosexual relationships - and whose Government is led by a man who is clearly homophobic, the Commissioner's reaction (or lack of it) is as unsurprising as it is disappointing. But it also begs the question: Who dictates what the police's role should be, when it should act and whom it should act against?

If, as many suspect, it is the Executive, the Police Act indeed casts a dark and depressing shadow over our democracy.

8th October 2007 - Border Queues

It seems that the vehicular traffic fluidity across the border is far from what was promised under the Cordoba deal, traffic this evening, as seen on this photos, was taking over an hour to cross the border into Spain.

8th October 2007 - ASTEG Press Release

EL FORO NO HA ARREGLADO LAS COLAS DE GIBRALTAR

Desde ésta Asociación de Trabajadores Españoles en Gibraltar, a raíz de las investigaciones y seguimiento que hacen nuestros afiliados que entran y salen de Gibraltar para trabajar y de las numerosas quejas que recibimos, queremos denunciar que el Acuerdo Tripartito ha sido y da a entender que seguirá siendo un Foro donde el importante asunto de LAS COLAS se ha abordado quizás con muy buena voluntad por parte de los “políticos amiguetes de fin de semana” que forman el mencionado Foro, pero que por la poca efectividad del acuerdo se deduce que no se ha hecho nada con carácter oficial y no se ha tratado con la seriedad, implicación técnica e incorporación de arreglos urbanísticos y de los necesarios medios humanos (de mano de obra real con importante incremento en guardias civiles, policías nacionales -y hasta incluso municipales dedicados exclusivamente al control de tráfico de peatones y vehículos en la frontera-) y por supuesto de las infraestructuras y medios materiales necesarios. el SUP ha vuelto a denunciar el estado tercermundista de nuestra frontera hoy, lo que indica lo realistas que son nuestras quejas.

Estamos hartos de quejarnos una y otra vez de tantas colas.., aunque lo hemos venido haciendo desde hace muchos años y lo hacemos ahora de nuevo; Las colas de vehículos, a raíz de nuestras quejas suelen mejorar, pero pasado un tiempo todo vuelve a lo habitual y eso significa que para entrar en Gibraltar volvemos a sufrir los mismos caprichitos de quien quiera que sea que no está dispuesto a que funcione el acuerdo y por esa causa los trabajadores han de esperar colas desde las 07:15 hasta las 08:00 o desde las 8:10 hasta las 09:00 y a veces mucho más, llegándose a prolongar la fila de vehículos hasta el Colegio Carlos V en el Paseo Marítimo. Las colas a la salida del trabajo de 15 a 16 oscilan entre los 10 y 40 minutos y de 16 a 19 la duración de la espera es aún mayor. Las vías de salida de Gibraltar a España convergen en una y todo se agrava y puede llegar a ser aún peor que antes del Foro porque al haberse colocado la señal roja para “declarar” y no habiendo muchos conductores que utilizan esta vía, todo se congestiona en un solo carril y además con pocos efectivos de la GC para controlarla.
Nos agrada haber visto que por primera vez lo denuncia también la Cámara de Comercio de Gibraltar e instamos a otros colectivos incluso a Citipeg –que se supone es también colectivo afectado - para que lo haga alguna vez y de esta forma seremos todos más convincentes.
De la misma forma que ASCTEG había recogido firmas en apoyo a los problemas de los trabajadores (pensiones patéticas y otras prestaciones de tres al cuarto) en cualquier momento podemos pedir firmas a todos aquellos trabajadores o visitantes a Gibraltar que se hallen en colas de espera y la respuesta sería de un sorprendente valor político.
Aprovechamos esta nota para dar un nuevo toque de atención a nuestros gobernantes españoles, quienes son en definitiva los que deben de velar por los intereses de los ciudadanos españoles, incluso cuando éstos trabajan en el extranjero como puede ser Gibraltar, al ser éste territorio de Europa y donde hay acuerdos que protegen a todos los europeos. Les notificamos una vez más que las quejas de los españoles fronterizos que vienen a nuestra asociación a pedirnos asesoramiento y/o a quejarse sobre irregularidades de contratación, sobre cumplimientos de leyes laborales, de incumplimientos de seguridad e higiene, de declararse menos de los que se cobra o de cobrar menos de lo pactado o hacer más horas de las previstas e incluso sufrir abusos de derechos humanos al darse ocasiones de trato vejatorio, coacciones y todo tipo de abusos son día a día más numerosas, como también lo son las de los trabajadores que ya se están convirtiendo en pensionistas pero discriminatoriamente no están amparados por los acuerdos que si han beneficiado a los trabajadores que trabajaron hasta el cierre de la frontera en el 1969. La última queja a ASCTEG nos la hace un nuevo pensionista que se fue a trabajar a Gibraltar cuando se abrió la frontera y quien a la hora de jubilarse se sorprendió al ver que sólo lo habían declarado 10 de los 15 años trabajados en Gibraltar y le ha quedado una pensión de Gibraltar de 48 libras mensuales junto a los 600 Euros que cobra en España. Además ha recibido una carta de la Hacienda Pública Gibraltareña donde se le requieren 400 libras que debe abonar del periodo de impuestos del año 88/90, hace ahora 19 años (¿?). En definitiva éstos son los puntos que resumen el Orden del día que llevamos en agenda para la próxima reunión con máximos responsables de los Ministerios de Exteriores y Trabajo y SS donde también asisten con nosotros Citipeg, nuestros Asesores Guerrero-Collado y los sindicatos comarcales UGT, CCOO y USO.

JJ Uceda
Delegado para Gibraltar
Por orden y VºBº Presidente de ASCTEG Salvador Molina

6th October 2007 - Airport

Following GB Airways having pulled out of its Gibraltar-Madrid flights, followed this
week by the Spanish company Iberia reducing it's Gibraltar-Madrid flights from two
flights every day to just weekend flights.

In a meeting addressing businessmen, our Chief Minister Mr Caruana said that ten to
fourteen flights a day, including regional European routes would be the optimum situation for Gibraltar.

5th October 2007 - IWBM Press Release

REFERENDUM ON U.N. OPTIONS FOR DECOLONIZATION.

The IWBM welcomes the initiative announced in the GSLP manifesto.

The IWBM has been advocating such a solution for many years. We believe that Gibraltar has neither been decolonised or has obtained an Act of Self Determination.

The GSLP'S promise to hold a Referendum on the U.N. Options in 2008 is in our opinion one of the most important issues in the Election. To determine what are the wishes of the people, as to what is their preferred Status in the face of the continued threats by Spain to open up negotiations with the British Government is extremely crucial.

All British Politicians have declared that they will respect always the ‘ wishes of the people' of Gibraltar. The British politicians know what we do not want so this would be an opportunity to tell what we want.

This is a very necessary exercise.

The Cordoba Agreement has made Gibraltar Insecure by first allowing Spanish Officials to Check our entry and exit whilst we are on Gibraltar soil. Second by agreeing that Spanish Company participates in the handling of baggage, immigration and Security matters in our own Airport and thirdly by saying that the Sovereignty issue over the Isthmus is a bilateral matter between Britain and Spain.

The U.N. Options are Free Association, Independence and Devolved Integration.

A Referendum on these choices will determine the direction Gibraltar Government should take to Decolonise Gibraltar.

We are convinced there is no future for either Free Association or Independence so our Movement would canvass vigorously that Gibraltar becomes a Region of the United Kingdom with Representation in Westminster.

A Referendum on this issue would give the lie to the Chief Minister's statement that following the introduction of the Reformed Constitution there was not much more room for advancement.

Joe Caruana
Chariman
Integration with Britain Movement.

3rd October 2007 - Airport

According to an article on a local newspaper the Spanish company Iberia has removed t's weekdays flights to Gibraltar.

(With the local company GB Airways having pulled out of it's GIbraltar-Madrid flights and Iberia cutting down it's Gibraltar-Madrid flights to Saturdays and Sundays, all the hoolabaloo created by the Gibraltar government and and the expense of building a new air terminal seems really like another big waste of taxpayers money)

2nd October 2007 - INSECURITY UNDER THE GSD

I called the Airport Agreement ‘ A TROJAN HORSE’.

Now I say that Gibraltar has never in a more INSECURE POLITICAL SITUATION.

In this General Election those who are not yet sure which way to vote should consider the following points.
Your chance is now to change this Government with no Ideology.

Why is Spain so happy with the Trilateral Talks?

The Spanish Politicians Moratinos, Pons and Estrella have been saying that the Trilateral Talks is paving towards the achievement of their Sovereignty Claim over the Isthmus and Gibraltar. Why.

Peter Caruana, who never consulted the people of Gibraltar on this Cordoba Agreement made the following concessions.

1) He conceded that the Sovereignty issue over the Isthmus is a Bilateral issue between Britain and Spain, no other Gibraltar leader has made this formal admission.
2) Peter Caruana has conceded that Gibraltarians must be ‘CHECKED’ by Spanish Officials whilst the passenger is still in Gibraltar Territory.
3) Peter Caruana has agreed that a piece of Territory in the Airport to be under the Jurisdiction of Spain by naming this Area a Schengen Transit Area. (Section 7 a to c).
4) Peter Caruana has given in section 7 (e) the Spanish Authorities the right to exercise their Schengen responsibilities to enter Gibraltar soil/Territory/Area.
5) The wording in the Agreement says, “ likewise in like manager the Spanish Authorities in an exceptional or unusual circumstance that render them necessary or desirable in line with their Schengen Obligations” The GOG has consistently denied this clear fact.
6) Peter Caruana has agreed that Spanish Company is involved in the handling of Baggage, passengers and Security inside our Air Terminal (Section 10).
7) Peter Caruana opened the door to Straw’s Joint Sovereignty Proposals causing Mr. Straw to say, “ Your Chief Minister knew about this and now we have an empty chair”. Was the Joint Sovereignty staged between the Foreign Office and the GOG so that later the GOG could defend the issue and look like the “good cop”?
8) Why are all the local Palomos backing the GSD?

If people remind Joe Bossano of his past why should we not remind Peter Caruana that he was once an active PAG member acting as Election Agent for this party?

As a former Politician with a good record of achievements I can say that Bossano’s political record is one of the greatest. He introduced the following Ingenious and extraordinary programmes, just to name a few:

1) Community Care
2) Parity
3) The Westside Reclamation.
4) 50/50 Ownership of houses
5) The Privatization of the Electricity, Water and Telephone Departments, which now render a profit to the Government.
6) Nothing in the GSD’s 12 year term can compare with this fine record.

Bossano is the only person who can put the Economy of Gibraltar on a strong footing, in the interest of all the people. He deserves a chance to prove this.

Joe Caruana
Former Minister in Government.

2nd October 2007 - UTOPIA

So Senor Moratinos tells the UN of hope for a definitive solution to their problem i.e. Gibraltar.

Can this be attributed to having gained a foothold at the airport, being given preferential treatment as to Customs and Immigration which you the people of Gibraltar,who voted the Government in do not enjoy or denying us territorial waters, or the latest this morning, ‘La punta de Europa Algeciras’, any wonder why we the sceptics steer clear of Cordoba, the agreement not the city.

Is this gentleman defending Spain’s cause in the name of the House of Savoy, the legitimate heirs according to Article ii of the Treaty of Utrecht or the House of Bourbon the ones who have been in and out according to Spain’s whimsies.

Can we discuss when the frontier is once again being closed, Article x does not permit an open frontier or insist on the wording of Article vi the one in which they solemnly undertake never to commit an act of hostility against Her Majesty the Queen of Great Britain nor any who succeed her.

Is it not time to prove your maturity as a Modern European Nation and recognise that you lost Gibraltar in 1704, full stop but in return gained Minorca and Florida, and finally as an afterthought explain how it is that you still retain Olivenza and Llivia both in foreign countries.

W.L.Chamberland

29th September 2007 - Forthcoming Elections.

Open letter to the people of Gibraltar.

Once again we shall be caught up with election fever. Now is the time when every party promises the moon and when elected forget and carry on their sweet way.

Let me enlarge, the present administration in particular the Chief very bravely resisted the pressure to attend the Brussels talks and I for one joined thousands of our compatriots and applauded his actions, the main reason being that the chair was booby trapped but then he engineered the tri-partite talks when not only was the chair booby trapped but the whole table.

We were led to believe in his party’s manifesto that they were all in favour of safe reasonable talks with no pre-conditions and more important that they disputed the misguided thinking by both Britain and Spain that Gibraltar was a bi-lateral issue.

The wording in the manifesto was for talks, not to sign anything but talks and after 2 long years of secret ones Gibraltar is presented with a ‘fait accompli’ and also warned that no cheery picking, this condition is not only immoral but laughable when both Britain and Spain cheery pick to their hearts content, one in Europe and the other with Utrecht.

In between the talks at least the CM had the decency in a TV appearance to tell not the 51% who voted for him and therefore supported the party manifesto but rather the 100% of us that concessions had to be given, pardon my stupidity but I thought that this works for both sides or better still all 3 parties and what do we get a ‘Cordoba Agreement’, under which without consulting the electorate he accepts the Spanish theory that the airport was not included in Utrecht therefore in dispute, sorry Sir please refer to the 1729 Treaty of Seville and a very important factor forgotten by him, i.e. when he appeared before the Commons committee of evidence and when asked, how would the citizens of Gibraltar react to an airport with two exits, no reply but the usual, Well Yes but may I take you back to?. Left unanswered but the mere fact that the question mentioned,citizens of Gibraltar was by inference at Referendum, where is it?.

Next the Bay of Algeciras comes into play, sorry Sir one more slip up, as it has been the Bay of Gibraltar since time immemorial and so appears in Spanish cartography even to the extent that in a resume of the invasion of Al-Andalus by the Moors they state that this action was carried out across the Bay of wait for it ‘Gibraltar’.

This is followed by stating in the document the frontier/fence, sorry once again a misconception because the older generation will remember, I have proof of it that even in Franco’s days the 80 visit passes issued by the Spanish Government stated the ‘Southern Frontier of Spain’.

You now expect the electorate to give you 4 more years in Government, to I suppose do what you want without consulting Parliament or the people.

My most important worry is that you are either the cleverest chameleon in the world or suffer from the Dr Jykle/ Mr Hyde syndrome, let me explain in August 1999 during the course of a Military event at the Tower of London you said among many things,’ We do not want to loose our British sovereignty and was critical of the joint sovereignty proposals by stating you cannot share one’s allegiance contrast this with your pronouncement in 2002 to the Spanish Magazine Hermes, quote ‘ Mr Caruana says that Spain should ‘spoil’ the Gibraltarians a little until the Gibraltarians decide to lower the Union Jack flag’ end of quote.

With the airport you stated that no concessions had been given followed by announcing the building of a new terminal alongside the frontier/fence that dear Sir is a concession of the biggest magnitude, because in your words if each party maintained its stance therefore the terminal stays where it is but not content with this you then singly grant the Spaniards another concession that of not having to go through Customs and Immigration, in other words what the Madrid correspondent of one of the tabloids wrote at the time that Gibraltar Airport was now considered as a Spanish Regional one.

I believe the main thrust of selling the airport agreement was to do with Schengen and how convenient for all, imagine my surprise on receiving the following reply from Mr Hoon, quote,’ The Government of Gibraltar is responsible for Gibraltar’s immigration issues. However I can confirm that Gibraltar is not within the Schengen travel zone,nor is Gibraltar Airport a Schengen airport. The Cordoba Agreement allows for a form of juxtaposed immigration controls similar to those used in relation to travel on the Eurostar, but with no Spanish officials being positioned within Gibraltar itself.’ An absolute brilliant exposition from the Minister of State for Europe with the biggest of flaws, he forgot, intentionally or not to explain that under the Eurostar agreement between Britain and France there is a French official at Waterloo and an English official in Paris, Gare du Nord where is the Gibraltar/British counterpart at Barajas? The next flaw with Schengen is that since neither Britain or Gibraltar belong, all flight to say Paris, Brussels or Milan would require passengers on arrival to use the non-Schengen desk which is the norm for persons flying from any UK airport and to this day Mr Caruana, no F.O. member or Minister has been able to confirm at which airport in the UK are Schengen officials clearing the millions who travel to either Spain or other EU Countries. No doubt you will have a brilliant answer for each of the above and make each of us look like fools.

W.L.Chamberland.

28th September 2007 - Leader's Debate on GBC.

In my humble opinion the PDP, as a Party, contesting the Elections have every right to take part in the Leaders Debate on GBC.

To say that the PDP cannot participate because they are only presenting SIX Candidates and therefore cannot form a Government is pure stupidity and ignorance of historical events.

During the 1969 General Elections for example my party, The Integration With Britain Party, stood with only SIX Candidates and the Isola Group stood with THREE Candidates. We shared in all TV and media Events equally, a tribute to Sir Joshua's Hassan's sense of fair play.

Something this GSD Government does not seem to know anything about.

More importantly in that Elections the IWBP DID FORM A GOVERNMENT WITH THE ISOLA GROUP. Together we got the majority in the House of Eight.

Who is to say that the same could not happen again?

Is this what the Chief Minister is frightened about? That the voters will split their votes and the PDP
COULD FORM GOVERNMENT WITH THE GSLP?

Or is is that the Prime Minister does not relish the idea of facing both the PDP AND THE GSLP leaders who both oppose the Cordoba Agreement? What an embarrassing scenario it would be for him on TV, when his double talk about the Cordoba Agreement would be exposed.

This GBC action reminds me of the run-up to the 2006 infamous Referendum, when the GBC Board overturned an already agreed schedule on the grounds that the NO Voters had more allot4d speakers than the Yes Voters who happened to be this Government.

The undemocratic Chief Minister Peter Caruana soon interfered and influenced the GBC Board. This lead to Mr. Charles Gomez, Willie Serfaty and myself going to GBC to try to get satisfaction and \mr. Gomez asked the Chairman that he should resign forthwith.

The 2006 Referendum on the Constitution was a farce and as I wrote at the time it would have been considered illegal in any normal Election exercise, yet the Chief Minister bulldozed the Constitution, when 8,000 voters abstained and 43% of those who voted against passing the Constitution.

When Voting in this Elections the public should not forget about this.

THE INDEPENDENCE OF THE JUDICIARY.

This is an issue on which I have written before, since I happen to be a sucker for Freedom of Expression and Justice I would give my life to defend this principles and maintain this Freedom, so I therefore agree with the Chief Justice.

The Judiciary should be totally Independent of Political appointee and interference.

Recent events have shown some political skulduggery in this area.

The same goes for the Police Authority, there should be no Political Appointees there either, I wrote about this at great length at the time of the Drafting of the Constitution, but I, as many other citizens, were denied a democratic hearing when the Constitution was still in its draft form.

This is what the public will get if the public votes for the GSD, split your votes if you have to but don't vote for this team with no Ideology who has recruited three new political renegades to their ranks. Think about this.

There is a huge Democratic Deficit with this Government and a lot of personal vindictiveness, I know I am one.

Joe Caruana
Former Minister in Government.

22nd September 2007 - ASTEG Press Release

Nuestro Presidente de ASCTEG, Salvador Molina ha recibido esta tarde una llamada del Diputado

socialista por Cádiz Salvador de la Encina con relación a la futura reunión que se celebrará en Madrid en el Ministerio de Trabajo y Asuntos Sociales. Éste ha disculpado la demora que se está produciendo y asegura que la reunión se va a llevar a cabo entre los diez primeros días del mes de Octubre, fecha que nos será finalmente confirmada cuando nos contacte de nuevo el próximo jueves 27. En dicha conversación Salvador Molina le hizo saber quienes serían los integrantes de la Comisión que acudirán a Madrid y le nombró al portavoz de ésta comisión nombrado por los dos colectivos de trabajadores y los sindicatos. A esta reunión también vendrán los asesores Guerrero-Collado como artífices del estudio socio laboral inicial donde se diagnosticaban las discrepancias y diferencias de prestaciones de un trabajador español que trabaja en España y otro español que tenga que trabajar en Gibraltar.

Los colectivos demandantes de soluciones a los graves problemas como son prestaciones por enfermedad, por larga enfermedad, por accidente, maternidad y quizás la más importante como es la prestación por jubilación, estamos deseosos de poder transmitir al Ministro o en su ausencia a quien lo represente esta preocupación que afecta a más de 2.600 trabajadores españoles registrados y otra cifra similar o superior que aún no lo están o que tienen trabajos precarios.

ASCTEG sigue recibiendo numerosas quejas de trabajadores y trabajadoras que tienen problemas en Gibraltar y entre éstos despidos caprichosos como lo son los de Cammell Laird donde la empresa se ha salido con la suya y ha dejado sin trabajo a muchos españoles y otras empresas que sin venir a que hacen la vida imposible al trabajador para que éste se aburra y se valla y en muchos casos sin declararle todo lo que gana, dándose muchos casos de personas que llevan muchos años trabajando sin estar cotizando por parte del empresario y propio trabajador; Muchos casos de despidos o maltrato por coacciones y bulling son casi imposibles de soportar por parte de los afectados o despedidos, quienes no pueden recurrir ni tan siquiera al paro obrero en nuestro país por la falta de documentos de despido al no haber estado dado de alta y éste es el último caso que no llega donde un joven que lleva 9 años en un trabajo en esas condiciones se verá obligado a abandonar el trabajo donde no puede continuar por maltrato y sus consecuente baja por enfermedad sicológica. Lo grave en Gibraltar es que se presume de que hay Inspectores de trabajo, aunque la mayoría de quejas se basan en que éstos o no hacen nada cuando se trata de españoles o están siempre de parte de las empresas (incluso en materias de seguridad en el trabajo donde en muchos casos estos temas hasta se desconocen).

ASCTEG sigue quejándose también de las colas de entrada por las mañanas al puesto de trabajo, donde a pesar de los alardes del gobierno en haber conseguido mejoras, lo hecho no ha significado nada y siguen las colas, lo mismo que a la hora de que los trabajadores finalizan sus trabajos desde las 2 hasta las 9 de la noche cuando la situación que se trató de mejorar no funciona porque se está a expensas de que no hay suficientes guardias civiles como para que se puedan mantener activas 3 o más filas, ya que en muchos casos la falta de personal hace que las únicas dos filas existentes (una para declarar pero que nadie la usa.,) convergen en una tan sólo por falta de efectivos, lo que en si es vergonzoso que esto siga ocurriendo porque estas políticas de ahorro la pagan los trabajadores y demás ciudadanos que siguen soportando largas colas y demoras.

En otro orden de cosas, ASCTEG está también a la espera de que en unos días el leader leader responsable del Sindicato de Gibraltar TGWU, que ha estado involucrado con los colectivos de esta Comisión para buscar soluciones a los problemas ASCTEG, CITIPEG y los sindicatos UGT, USO y CCO envíe el comunicado de prensa donde tenía previsto rectificar de sus declaraciones que hizo contra ASCTEG y en particular contra nuestro compañero JJ Uceda, en dicha nota de prensa para los medios de Gibraltar, criticaba  erróneamente la postura de los mencionados. Ahora va a hacer un año que tanto Uceda como otros compañeros fueron despedidos injustamente de los Astilleros de Gibraltar y aún están a la espera de que funcione la defensa que había proporcionado el sindicato.

(Firstly as far as I am aware, no discrimination exists against the Spanish workers, on the contrary, there are many employees who employ Spaniards instead of Gibraltarians, proof of that is that presently there are well over 5000 Spaniards working in Gibraltar.

Furthermore, ASTEG should be grateful that all those thousands of Spanish workers are not jobless, which would be the case if they were not working in Gibraltar, since unfortunately, they cannot find work in their homeland.

It is common knowledge that the town of La Linea exists and prospers thanks to the Spaniards working in Gibraltar, but ASTEG seems to have a very poor memory, and does not remember that when the Spanish frontier was closed, La Linea was a ghost town, simply because thousands moved to other cities in Spain or emigrated to other counties in order to survive.

Rather than make distorted statements, ASTEG should press on the Spanish government to create jobs in their home country for all the Spaniards who work in Gibraltar).

8th September 2007 - Gibraltar General Election will be held on 11th October

The Chief Minister has advised the Governor Sir Robert Fulton to dissolve Parliament and has called a General Election on Thursday 11th October 2007.

The Governor has issued a Proclamation dissolving Parliament and convening a General Election accordingly.

(During the last 300 years, Gibraltarians fought to remain British and endured numerous sieges, the last one lasted from 1969 to 1985, when Spain blocked all land, sea and air communications, in the hope that, under duress, we would succumb to their wishes.

Unfortunately times have changed, British Prime Ministers like Sir Winston Churchill or Gibraltar Chief Minister like Sir Joshua Hassan no longer seem to exist, instead, until just recently, we had the UK Prime Minister Tony Blair, willing to share Gibraltar's sovereignty with Spain and Gibraltar Chief Minister Peter Caruana, giving concessions to Spain in exchange for the lifting of some of the restrictions imposed in 1969 by the Spanish Fascist Dictator General Franco.

With the General Election just round the corner, let us hope that Gibraltarians realise that irrespective whether Spain gives us the stick or the carrot, their ultimate aim is Gibraltar's sovereignty and that any concessions, no matter how small, simply means giving away part of our homeland).

6th September 2007 - STATEMENT BY THE GSLP/LIBERAL OPPOSITION

NATIONAL DAY MESSAGE 2007

From the Leader of the Opposition Joe Bossano

On Monday, the 10 th , Gibraltar's National Day, we celebrate our separate nationhood as a sovereign people with a right to self-determination. This enables us to make use of this fundamental human right to attain decolonisation and to decide the future international status of our city-state.

What we will not be able to do, yet, is to say that all this has already happened because the UK, as the administering power, continues to report to the United Nations on Gibraltar as it does in respect of all its other overseas territories, as if our international status was no different now, in 2007, to what it has been in the past.

Last year, on the eve of the Referendum, in October, UK once again submitted at the UN a joint statement with Spain requiring our decolonisation to be negotiated between them, in the spirit of the 1984 Brussels Declaration. So far, there is no indication that the same thing will not be repeated this coming October.

If this happens, it raises a serious question mark over what last year's Referendum achieved. It reinforces Spain's position at the UN, that the modernization of our constitution has been no different to what is taking place in other British Overseas Territories, which, under international law, all remain listed as colonies.

We made clear a year ago that for us the need for a National Day Political Rally, in the campaign to achieve international recognition of our right to self-determination, was far from over.

In the next couple of months, our parliament comes to the end of its four year life and you will have to choose a new Government. In the choice we put before you we will include a clear cut commitment on the way ahead to complete the exercise of self-determination and the fulfilment of our decolonisation.

The creation of National Day in 1992 marked the 25 th anniversary of our rejection of the Spanish claim in the 1967 Referendum and the assertion of our separate identity as a people with the right to our land, all of it, isthmus included.

These rights are still threatened by Spain's ambitions to take us over and UK's ambiguity in discharging its obligation to defend us. Whatever may be happening, none of the fundamentals have changed.

We are here today, as we have been in the past and we will be in the future, to defend those rights and maintain that this Rock is ours and Spain will NEVER, EVER, have any say over it.

Long live Gibraltar and its people! Happy National Day!

3rd September 2007 - Progress on the salvage of the semi-sunken cargo ship 'New Flame, which on the 12th August collided with the Danish petrol tanker 'Torm Gertude' has been slowly going on.

The salvage team, government, experts, etc, have kept on holding meeting to find ways and means of tackling the situation, however, after close to a month since the incident, the ship remains where it was.

See superb collection of photos on the VOX web site.

28th August 2007 - ASCTEG Press Release

La Asociación de Trabajadores españoles en Gibraltar convoca a todos los trabajadores españoles y gibraltareños de Calmell Lair que lo deseen, para que acudan a esta asociación o se pongan en contacto con los delegados y directivos para explicar todo lo relativo al último accidente grave ocurrido en los Astilleros hace un mes en el que dos trabajadores búlgaros estuvieron a punto de perder la vida cuando una carga de barras de metales pesados (ánodos de barcos) transportada por una grúa se desprendió sobre sus cuerpos y afectando más gravemente a uno de ellos (un inmigrante muy bueno, ejemplar compañero y trabajador llamado Vasil), quien se encuentra aún hoy en la UCI del hospital gibraltareño tras haber sufrido un trauma cráneo encefálico con pérdida de líquido cráneo frontal, con perforación por la espalda y miembros con fracturas abiertas que daba miedo verlo en el momento del accidente o al menos así lo atestiguan algunos compañeros. Hoy su enferma esposa desplazada al efecto duda si el desdichado Vasil podrá tener una recuperación y vida digna tras el accidente.

Aunque hay sospechas de negligencia, las causas del accidente no están nada claras pero no es la primera vez que acontece un accidente en los astilleros de Gibraltar donde priman las prisas y el interés de sacar los barcos a tiempo antes que la seguridad e higiene en el trabajo tan denunciado por los propios trabajadores y donde la profesionalidad y calidad laboral deja paso a la contratación barata sea ésta profesional o no. Vale recordar que varios otros accidentes en el mismo año podrían haber costado la vida a otras personas, uno de ellos a un portugués a quién se le cayó sobre el hombro parte de una maquinaria elevadora por falta de mantenimiento, sin olvidarnos del accidente que costó la vida a un joven pintor linense cuyo asunto después de habérsele detectado cierta culpabilidad en la seguridad y mantenimiento de la empresa está aún pendiente a resolución judicial final habiendo pasado ya algo más de cuatro años.

Lamentablemente el sindicato de Gibraltar TGWU no tuvo el éxito que todos esperábamos en su afán por conseguir de ésta empresa Cammell Laird el respeto a los derechos de los trabajadores, principalmente que se tuviese en cuenta la seguridad en el trabajo al haber conseguido ésta manipular a un grupito de trabajadores sin escrúpulos, para que creasen un comité interno que generase el miedo en la mayoría de trabajadores no fijos o contratados del Este para así buscar confusión y conflictividad entre trabajadores, oponiéndose a más de la mitad de la plantilla que se había abonado al sindicato y de ésta forma, la larga lucha sindical mantenida por el TGWU y los trabajadores que siempre habían añorado una recuperación de sus derechos a un trabajo donde prime la seguridad en el trabajo y se respeten los derechos del trabajador.
Lamentablemente tampoco el gobierno de Caruana y el Departamento del Trabajo ETB estuvieron por la labor de hacer cumplir la ley. Astilleros de Gibraltar lleva desde primeros de siglo sin que se lleve a cabo ningún tipo de inspección o adaptación de las medidas de seguridad como exigen la OIT o las legislaciones europeas, Astilleros es una isla del pasado, un mundo aparte donde los jefes se jactan de decir “Si no estás de acuerdo te marchas…” o “Aquí., esto es lo que hay si no., no vengas a trabajar con nosotros” Y donde se obliga a los trabajadores, especialmente soldadores, pintores, buzos y peones a correr riesgos innecesarios y sin las medidas de protección que se demandan para estas labores.
De nada ha valido que los trabajadores, el sindicato TGWU y las asociaciones de trabajadores ASCTEG y CITIPEG hayan denunciado tanto desde hace casi un año de continua lucha, para que la empresa ante la pasividad del mismo Gobierno haya conseguido salir airosa de esta situación para de esta forma seguir abusando, hacer lo que le viene en gana y si hace falta poniendo en grave riesgo las vidas de los trabajadores.
ASCTEG está aún a la espera de la carta denuncia que envió a Caruana vía entrega directa en su oficina, hace ahora unos 9 meses de la misma forma que espera también no con mucha ilusión que este último accidente sea inspeccionado “profesionalmente y con la verdad por delante” por parte de los agentes de la Administración gibraltareña, encargados de la defensa de los derechos de los trabajadores en Gibraltar y de velar por los intereses de los mismos. El Sindicato de Gibraltar estaba en lo cierto cuando demandaban un buen listado de exigencias para los trabajadores.
Por nuestra parte, si como resultado de nuestra propia investigación detectamos alguna anomalía como lo que acostumbrábamos a ver en los Astilleros, lo denunciaremos y pondremos en conocimiento de las organizaciones internacionales y europeas competentes al respecto.

Desde ASCTEG, jj uceda – delegado para Gibraltar y siguiendo instrucciones
del Presidente Salvador Molina

23rd August 2007 - New Flame

It seems that the salvage team have realized that the New Flame is no piece of cake that would simply break up in two pieces by merely pulling one end.

One would have thought no matter how hard one pulls a semi-sunken ship which is partially resting on the seabed, if the pulling force is done from a vessel floating on water, most of the pulling force will merely be wasted onto the sea, with just a fraction of the force actually being excerted on the sunken ship.

Thus after 8 hours of playing tug-o-war against the New Flame, common sense seems to have prevailed and the salvage team, government, experts, etc., have decided to go back to the drawing board and to find ways and means of dealing with the New Flame, which seems to be turning out to be a Hot Potatoe.

22nd August 2007 - The Rock of prejudice (Please click here)

22nd August 2007 - Efforts yersterday to break up the partially sunk cargo ship New Flame failed. As off mid-day today the salvage operation was still underway although the ship still remained in one piece.

18th August 2007 - Mobile Phone Warning

Today, just after driving across the border I got stopped by the Spanish Police who asked me whether I knew why I had been stopped, to which I replied that I did not have a clue.

He then proceeded to inform me that I had been stopped because I was using my mobile phone whilst driving, to which I replied that it was impossible since I did not have a mobile phone. I was then asked to step out of the vehicle and he then proceeded to thoroughly search my car.

I wonder what would have happened had I been carrying a mobile phone, even if I was not using it whilst driving.

If you carry your mobile phone whilst driving in Spain, be careful you don't get stopped by the police for using it whilst driving, you might find it very difficult to prove otherwise.

13th August 2007 - Oppositon Press Release

The Opposition notes that there have been many eye witness reports yesterday of the Spanish involvement in operations linked with the collision between two ships that took place off Europa Point at 5am last Sunday. Any such activity in Gibraltar's Territorial Waters would be an incursion into Gibraltar's Sovereign Jurisdiction, unless it took place at the request of the Government or at the very least because Spain offered to provide resources and the Government accepted the offer on the basis that Gibraltar lacks the ability to deal with the problem on its own.

In the past there have been occasions involving incidents in the hinterland when our Fire Brigade has offered to help and left it to the pertinent authorities to accept or reject the offer.

Any involvement of Spanish human or material resources can only be on exactly the same basis, especially as the Spanish position, officially, is that they do not recognise our territorial waters outside the harbour area.

The deployment of the Spanish resources, vessels, helicopter and manpower reported in the Spanish media gives the impression that it is a Spanish led operation this is being embarked upon.

The Gibraltar Government some years ago introduced a levy on bunkering to generate revenue to deal with possible problems associated with port activities.

The Government should therefore ensure that the necessary resources are available to deal with the vessel and that in the first instance the MoD should be asked to provide back up if needed, before we go looking for help outside our shores.

12th August 2007 - At 5.45 am the Danish petrol tanker 'Torm Gertude' collided with the cargo ship 'New Flame'.

Fortunately there were no casualties, with the crew of the cargo ship having been rescued by helicopter.

The cargo ship which was carrying scrap metal started to sink just off Europa Point, however it's bow has rested on the Reef commonly known as 'La Seca', and this has prevented if from sinking completely.

Luckily there was no spillage from the petrol tanker 'Tom Gertude which at the time was carrying over 37,000 tons of crude oil. The petrol tanker proceeded to the port of Algeciras (Spain).

Click here for slide show of the sinking of the cargo ship as published on the VOX weekly newspaper.

7th August 2007 - Press Release from the SDGG

The Self-Determination  for Gibraltar Group will NOT be holding its National Day Rally on the 10th of September 2007.

It would be misleading for the SDGG to hold a political rally which could serve as a platform to defend our colonial constitution either directly or by implication, and as a platform for the elected politicians who told our people that the referendum was an act of self-determination resulting in decolonisation. The SDGG stands by its founding principle, which indicates that the opposite is the truth, that our political status today is as colonial as it always has been.

If a political Rally takes place at Casemates on the 10th of september it will presumably be a Government event claiming that we have achieved decolonisation. The principles which founded the SDGG with the support of all political parties led to the logic of the campaign for a NO vote at the Constitutional referendum and from there follows inevitably the decision that a political rally should not be supported on national day, despite the creation of the day and the rally by the group in 1993.

The SDGG will make no further statement prior to the 10th of September on the decision taken. The group takes this opportunity to thank all supporters for their ongoing enthusiasm and particularly William Serfaty for the sterling work done by him over the 9-year period since he took over from Denis Matthews. Mr Serfaty will chair a caretaker committee until he vacates the post in November 2007.

2nd August 2007 - GB Airways has announced that it's Gibraltar to Madrid flights will cease by the end of September. Amongst the reasons given is the severely limited availability of slots in Madrid.

Passengers with advanced bookings for flights after September will have the choice of a refund or fly on one of the daily Iberia Gibraltar/Madrid flights.