DEFIANT calls for British Navy ships to be stationed in Gibraltar have been made during a raucous National Day rally. 

CELEBRATION: National Day this year was the biggest yet

A group of 11 British politicians delivered rip-roaring speeches focussing on recent tensions with Spain and backing Gibraltar’s right to self-determination.

The Casemates crowd – a sea of red and white – echoed the patriotic sentiments as Chief Minister Fabian Picardo delivered the final address, centering around a salute to the ‘evacuation generation’ of 75 years ago.

Linking it to the current refugee crisis engulfing Europe, he vowed to help as much as possible under the plea that ‘sharing is caring’.

But it was Conservative MP for Romford, Andrew Rosindell, who got the biggest cheer, when he insisted the Royal Navy should – once again – have battleships permanently stationed in Gibraltar.

“The people of Gibraltar are a part of the Great British family and I would like to see a battleship here to apprehend any Spanish ship to illegally enter British waters,” he said.

Democratic Unionist MP Ian Paisley also insisted it was time that a ‘senior’ member of the Royal family visited the Rock.

“These are our international waters, this is our country, these are our people and we must support them,” he roared in a rousing address.

“We will never surrender this rock!”

After waving a letter of ‘best wishes’ from the Queen, the Chief Minister finally vowed to increase National Day celebrations in years to come.

“National Day will never ever be diminished. In fact, it will only get bigger. We stand together, red white and free!” he bellowed.

Following the speeches, the traditional releasing of the balloons – which has caused controversy in recent years due to its environmental impact – took place.

Then, as the crowds gazed up at the red and white speckled sky, Tina Turner’s Simply the Best blasted through the sound system, signalling the start of an almighty party.

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28 COMMENTS

  1. a couple of problems with this concept:1 the RN doesn’t have enough warships to permanently support an on station Frigate or Destroyer (John is right the RN doesn’t have any Battleships) due to cuts in the fleet made by the political parties of the aforementioned MPs and 2 there isn’t enough MoD accommodation to house the crew and their families and the support staff that would be required to keep the vessel operational as the vast majority of the MoD accommodation has been handed over to the Government of Gibraltar

  2. To be honest, given that the waters are British under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, that the Straights of Gibraltar is one of the key world choke points and the UK has a constitutional obligation to defend these waters as per the Gibraltar Constitution – I do not think it matters if it sends a battleship or some other appropriate vessel, and there are plenty of vessels to choose from. At a glance there are as follows:

    “As of 1 August 2015, there are 76 commissioned ships in the Royal Navy. 19 of the commissioned vessels are major surface combatants (six guided missile destroyers and 13 frigates) and 10 are nuclear-powered submarines (four ballistic missile submarines and six fleet submarines). In addition the Navy possesses a landing platform helicopter, two amphibious transport docks, 15 mine countermeasures vessels, 22 patrol vessels, four survey vessels, one icebreaker and two historic warships (Victory and Bristol)”.

    A patrol vessel or two may do the trick.

    Additionally, Gibraltar can provide whatever accommodation is required without a problem.

    If you are unsure as to why these ships are needed in British waters, I refer you to this recent assault by the Spanish paramilitary Guardia Civil on Gibraltarian vessels. This is not the first incident of this nature nor will it be the last. There was even a 10-12 year old kid on the boat the Guardia Civil was ramming into. Perhaps this may even qualify as a terror attack as Gibraltarians were most certainly terrorized by the Guardia Civil.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=2&v=3DePA7bZYrg

  3. Send what ever you have available,,,,we will be waiting for you!

    Gibraltar is not part of the United Kingdom, it is a crown colony that came to be with the signing of a treaty after 11 years of illegal occupation and after forcing the rightful local population (true Gibraltarians) to leave.

    Gibraltar has no territorial waters other that those of the port of Gibraltar.

    What we really need to do is shutdown the land border and streamline arrivals front Gibraltar by sea, entering Spain via Algeciras.

    • And the fascist streak of the Spanish comes through bright and clear.

      Just because you make these statements does not make them true.

      Gibraltar has a non-colonial relationship with the UK, it is a British Overseas Territory.

      You have already reneged on the Cordoba Agreement.

      You have serviced Russian submarines destined for the war in Ukraine, or other nefarious activities.

      NATO has seen what you have done, and what you are doing.

      Close the land frontier permanently, and the EU will place the last nails in the coffin that is Spain.

      Remember the Spanish Armada when they tried to invade England, and the Battle of Trafalgar – watch this space for a true sense of history repeating.

      I know its hard, but Spain should consider practicing some real diplomacy – perhaps then this problem can be properly resolved without endangering EU citizens (which, you forget, is what Gibraltarians are – we joined the EU with the UK before Spain, don’t you remember…or do you just not accept it?)

  4. Ciudadanos – you are just another fascist bully boy. Your forces have never won a meaningful fight ever. The only thing the Spanish army has ever done is kill hundreds of thousand of their own people with guns v pitchforks. Sent 3 warships to the first Gulf war and none arrived due to technical problems. Hmmm….
    You sent the largest naval fleet to invade GREAT Britain and were defeated by a rag bag force who had just been playing petanke :-)

  5. Looking at it another way Britain has been a bully for century’s in India, Australia, America ……….. and so many more telling we were bringing god and we knew best. What we really wanted was all their riches but don’t tell em eh

    • @ John Lightfoot – I reiterate what Bluemoon has said to you in reply. Additionally, when you say “…Britain has been a bully for centuries…”, surely you are referring to the Age of Imperialism (18th Century to middle of 20th, namely more or less until the end of the Second World War).
      I do not think we can single out the UK, we could also mention Spain’s treatment of their old empire – looking at Spain’s main ex-colonies and comparing them to UK ex-colonies – the facts speak for themselves.
      Although I will not excuse British Imperialism, Australia, North America (Canada and USA) and also India are important modern democracies in their own right in our present modern world. The same cannot be said for Latin America and the countries with a Spanish heritage, nor for Spanish Morocco or the Spanish Sahara.
      But this is not a competition and neither is this about the world’s imperial past.
      The UK is a leading world democracy, Gibraltar is a democracy – the EU is also democratic.
      Spain is also meant to be democratic, despite its unresolved fascist legacy and roots.
      Lets all be democratic and not resort to unhelpful gunship diplomacy.

  6. Yes John we were very naughty in those places . However we now live supposedly in the 21st Century and such behaviour is not acceptable in any civilised country. People(s) must be allowed to decide their own future and not be forced to accept what the bigger nations want. Catalunia must be allowed to be independent if it wants as must Gibraltar. Despite 13 sieges the Spanish haven’t managed to claim our tiny piece of rock but resort instead to tactics that frankly only hurt their own people and the expats who live in their country and no doubt contribute heavily to it.
    In the past year or so I know personally of many wealthy and middle wage earners moving into Gib from Spain because of the hassle they get. And the tide hasn’t stopped yet.
    Close the border and that will just make everyone here richer. We are hypocritical to the extent that we enjoy our sojourns to Spain but why chop off your nose to spite your face.

  7. John Lightfoot,
    why do you find it nec. to be an apologist for the Spanish. Try studying what the Spanish did in Central/South America – 40 million + dead by brutality and imported disease and the wilful and jealous destruction of two civilisations. As for the Catholic church and what it’s paedaphile priests did, no mention of that.

    Oh yes, when are you going to move to Spain – lots of worthless comments from someone who has never experienced the reality of living in Spain.

    • I am not sticking up for Spain, but the way people talk Spain has always been the bad guy with the Brits perfect in every way and can do no wrong. I am ashamed on a lot of the things the British have done and the Spanish should be shamed of their transgressions.
      As the saying goes “Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her”.
      So I find all this name calling over what they have done or did in the past a joke considering we went to India and cut the thumbs off the cloth weavers to the raw materials could come to the UK. We did explain to then though that it was in their best interests

  8. “People(s) must be allowed to decide their own future and not be forced to accept what the bigger nations want. Catalunia must be allowed to be independent if it wants as must Gibraltar.”

    the peoples can´t decide about some things that exist, they only can decide about things for to do.

    The Nations are shaped by the History, not by the momentary will of a part more or less big of his people. A will that can change for the next generation. .

    If I have born in London, I cant decide that I have born in Paris. If London belongs to the United Kingdon, the london population can´t decide that London secedes from the United Kingdon for to be a independent republic or a caliphate.

    Catalonia is not a colony ,hence you must say “secesion”, not independence.

    The right of secesion only can be admited in regions in which the people is extemely brutally oppressed. ¿Do You think that Catalonia is one of these? .

    About the independence of Gibraltar , this is an issue not allowed by the international law, because that would mean an injure to the integrity of Spain. You are speaking about an issue forbidden by the United Nations.

    Concerning to the close of the fence of Gibraltar, it is a forbidden question while the United Kingdom remains in the EU..

    • @ Anselmo
      I am not sure you are explaining yourself properly, so I moderate my reply.
      We are not talking about the momentary will of a generation which constitute a people. Rather, Gibraltar has been British for over 300 years and wishes to remain so (Gibraltar was Spanish for far less time, it was in fact Moorish for far longer than it has been British or it was Spanish).
      History has indeed shaped Gibraltar – it has shaped it into a British Gibraltar which is very patriotic.
      Gibraltar does not belong to Spain or the Spanish people, legally or de facto. Gibraltar is British and belongs to HM the Queen who holds it on trust for her people – in this case the Gibraltarians.
      Caliphate…you scaremonger you!
      If Catalonia secedes, it will become Independent.
      Democracy does not require a climate of oppression in order for the people of a region to be able to express their self-determination. All people have a right to express their self-determination. A democracy like Great Britain, therefore, will allow lively debate and referenda to take place in Scotland and elsewhere. Spain muffles and threatens the Catalonian people and will not recognise any of their referenda – they pervert democratic arguments to justify their hostile position.
      The future of Gibraltar will eventually be decided irrespective of Spain – democratically speaking this is unavoidable. Fascism and fascist arguments may argue otherwise, but who cares.
      Read the United Nations Charter, Article XI, and then make sure you understand it properly.
      Closing the frontier even if the UK leaves the EU may also not be an option for Spain. You seem to imply that the only reason the frontier is open is because Spain has no option if it wants to be a part of the EU. Lets see what happens, but spare a thought for over 10,000 Spanish people who will become unemployed if they cannot go to work in Gibraltar…but I forget, fascist nations do not care about their people.

      • Thanks for to be so indulgent with my poor capacity of writing. ( I refered to the commentary of Bluemoon), and I was referring ,in metaphoric terms, to the hypothesis of a caliphate in London.

        I can´t change the next things:

        1) The right of self-determination exist only for colonies.
        Catalonia is not a colony, we must speak about a secession.

        2) Gibraltar hasn’t right to self- determination because it injures the Spanish territorial integrity.

        3) While the United Kingdom remains in the EU, is a waste of time to speak about the fence of Gibraltar.

        4) Scotland is a kingdom ,united with the kingdom of England and Wales by a treaty ,that can be dissolved. A situation totally different to Catalonia that was a county of the kingdom of Aragon that was united to the Kingdom of Castilla by marriage, avoiding to be conquered by France and enabling for Aragon the chance of seizing of territories in the very prosperous Italy, fighting against France

        • @ Anselmo
          Sorry to say this but your territorial integrity argument is a perversion of the concept of territorial integrity. You are totally misunderstanding this principle which applies to secession from a state and altering the boarder of a state in this way. This does not and can not apply to Gibraltar which already has boarders independent to Spain – internationally recognized in law.
          You are then misapplying your incorrect conclusion to Gibraltar.
          This is why what you say cannot be taken seriously; you are a convoluter full of misinformation.

          • Misinformation ?

            Gibraltar´s frontiers? Gibratar is not a state.

            I´m speaking about an UN resolution,that decretes the imposibilty of the independence of the colony of Gibraltar,precisely because,acording UN it will go against the territorial integrity of Spain.

  9. Fab,
    we are right behind you. Catalans did not want to be part of Spain you were invaded by the alien Spanish. Scotland was sold out by a bunch of vermin/lawyers, the Scottish people were never given a chance to decide for themselves. In the referendum a lot of cowards let themselves be frightened – make sure you Catalans remain strong in heart – viva Catalunya.

  10. Stuart

    Catalonia never have been invaded for Spain. Catalonia is part of Spain since the beginning, more of five centuries before the present .

    Scotland is an old kingdom, which is united to England, by a treaty that can be derogated.

    • Stuart

      the “Guerra of Sucesión”, were as her name says a war for to decide who would be the King of all Spain,including South America , Naples, etc.

      Nobody spoke about the independence of catalonia till two centuries passed

  11. Anselmo – take a look at the definition of denial syndrome and you will, if you have any courage at all you will recognise yourself. Then take a look at the racial history of the Iberian peninsular. The Catalans are entirely different racially from the Aryans of the centre as are the Iberian/Gaelic Celts of the NW or the Euskadi, in Europe for 40,000 years or the Morenos or Semitic peoples of the south. Those who think of themselves as ‘Spanish’ are the Aryans of the centre.

    • Stuart.

      I suggest you read the genetic maps of Europe of Eupedia.

      The word “racial” in Spanish regions is inapropiate. Probably it was before of the roman invasion. But now is not possible.

      You can´t speak about catalan race, it never has existed.

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