A SUMMER OF DISCONTENT
Simon Courtauld reports
on an upsurge of anti-British feeling in usually placid Gibraltar
Gibraltar IN 1980, when I was last here, staff at the Gibraltar Chronicle called a strike because Joe Bossano, then branch officer of the Transport and General Workers' Union, had failed to keep three appointments with the editor. When I called at Bossano's offices, I was greeted by a Dobermann pin- scher. Nowadays, as Chief Minister, Bossano is behaving rather more eccentri- cally. In his Who's Who entry he lists 'think- ing' as one of his recreations; perhaps it should be a full-time occupation.
For it is hard to believe that he gave suf- ficient thought to his bizarre decision last month to ban British citizens from coming to work in the colony which has been looked after by the British Government for the past 280 years. Bossano apparently took this action to protect Gibraltarians and their jobs; unemployment stands at 1.5 per cent. But he has placed no restrictions on workers coming from Spain, the old enemy, or from other EEC countries, choosing instead to bring in a law which discriminates quite blatantly against the mother country. The Foreign Affairs Min- istry in Madrid says, quite smugly, that this is a matter between Britain and Gibraltar, but Spain will no doubt be encouraged to put more pressure on Britain at their next round of talks on the future of the Rock.
One Spaniard in the border town of La Linea could not contain his amusement when I told him that this law has also resulted in the Gibraltar immigration office refusing to renew the identity cards of Britons who have lived here for many years — though Bossano now says this should not have happened. But he may have made a more fundamental mistake in enacting a measure without consulting the relevant article of the Treaty of Rome which 'pro- hibits discrimination by a member state against its own nationals'.
The Foreign Office seems remarkably unconcerned, saying only that 'we cannot endorse' what Bossano has done. The Gov- ernor, General Sir John Chapple, received a delegation from the British Citizens Association, which is campaigning to have the law repealed, and regretted he could not interfere in 'an internal matter'. More to the point, the Foreign Office is quite happy for Bossano to take any action which may release the British Government from its responsibilities for this embarrassing wart on the bottom of the Iberian Peninsula.
Gibraltar is EEC territory to which EEC law applies, while remaining outside the Customs Union and exempt from VAT. The colony's status within Europe is clearly unsatisfactory: it has no seat in the Euro- pean Parliament and belongs to Europe only as a subsidiary of Britain. Bossano would like Gibraltar to become the 13th state of the EEC. Though he has never said publicly that this should involve indepen- dence from Britain, many Gibraltarians now believe this to be his game-plan. What he does talk about — most recently to a committee of the United Nations — is 'the eradication of colonialism' and 'the sacred right to freedom and self-determination'. Last year a large number of Gibraltarians expressed their support for self-determina- tion, without really knowing what future they want to determine for themselves. The vast majority, though, still want to retain a link with Britain — not to mention their British citizenship.
There is, of course, the small problem of the Treaty of Utrecht. In 1713 this gave Gibraltar to Britain 'with all manner of right for ever', providing only that if Britain were to give up its sovereignty, Spain would become entitled to it. However, the treaty also insisted that no Jews or Moors should ever reside on the Rock. That bit of racial discrimination did not last long; and Sir Joshua Hassan, Bossano's predecessor as Chief Minister for many years, is both. But Bossano did not endear himself to the Moroccan community the other day when, in answer to a question about Moroccan immigrants, he indicated that every worker admitted would be likely to bring with him four wives and ten children. Moroccans are in fact monogamous. A group of Moroccans gathers most days in Convent Place, outside the Governor's residence, with placards declaring 'No descrimenations' (sic) and 'Gibraltar gov- ernment worst in Europe'. Were they showing solidarity with the Brits? I won- dered. (I also wondered what the Russian sailors made of it, sitting with pints of Bass outside the Angry Friar, on the other side of the square.) In fact the Moroccans are demonstrating about their own plight: they pay tax and insurance to the Gibraltar gov- ernment, yet are not entitled to any bene- fits. If they lose their jobs they are most unlikely to be re-employed.
British citizens working in Gibraltar may also be denied benefits — in particular, hospital treatment — if they live over the border in Spain. Many Gibraltarians, too, choose to make their homes in Spain, where there is space, open country and the price of property is more than 50 per cent cheaper. Bossano made more room on the Rock by reclaiming land from the sea. In a series of joint ventures, mostly with Danish money, apartment blocks and a building components factory were constructed. The factory has been abandoned, many of the apartments are unsold, and a huge hotel and business complex remains unfinished after the Hyatt group pulled out. The only occupant of the building is another English pub, the Duck and Firkin.
Bossano's plan for economic prosperity as a springboard to political independence has not worked. But it has not stopped him antagonising most of the population 10,000, mostly Gibraltarians, have signed a petition against the new immigration law — and almost certainly deterring future investment from Britain. Some wealthy expatriates on the Costa del Sol are said to be already transferring their funds from Gibraltar to Jersey. Meanwhile, the larger hotels are less than half full in what should be the busiest holiday month, and one of them has gone into receivership.
Bossano also appears to have lost the support of the trade union movement. A two-week strike by refuse workers remains unsettled, while rubbish continues to accu- mulate in the streets, in temperatures this week of 90° F. Picking my way along Main Street, past piles of empty drinks cans and cigarette packets, I sought sanctuary in the King's Chapel, hung with the colours of those regiments which were involved in Britain's capture of Gibraltar and in the Great Siege towards the end of the 18th century. Admiring the stained-glass win- dow of one of the heads of the Church of England, George VI, I was amused to learn that Mass is celebrated here every Saturday evening.
In this odd little community of mixed Mediterranean descent, most of whose members are Catholic and speak Spanish, the determination not to become part of Spain shows as little sign of weakening as Spain's resolve to retain 'its' territory. Gibraltarians are insular people, some- what insecure, and they seem rather to enjoy being under siege. Today they appear to be suffering less from Spain than at the hands of their own chief minis- ter, and there is no shortage of rumours about what he may do next. New joint ven- tures are spoken of — with the Chinese to manufacture no one knows what, and with Portugal for a new airline — but there is little confidence that they will be of any benefit to Gibraltar. More money is proba- bly made — and there is plenty of specula- tion as to who makes it — by the regular trade in drugs and tobacco from Morocco and Gibraltar to Spain, carried in high- speed launches which can be seen moored in the harbour here.
Much may have changed in Gibraltar by 1996, when Bossano is next obliged to call an election. Who knows how many non- Gibraltarian British citizens will be allowed to work here then? Since this law came into force, Bossano is being increasingly compared with Dom Mintoff, the former prime minister of Malta. Like Malta, Gibraltar may move to the status of a dominion, even a republic, within the Com- monwealth.
The strength of present opposition to his anti-British law may oblige Bossano to reach some compromise, but no one thinks it will stop his dictatorial designs. The Union Jack may not be flying for much longer over the Governor's residence. Sig- nificantly, perhaps, on one of the govern- ment buildings earlier this week it was flying at half-mast.
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