Giles Brown
THE storm of protest over Chief Minister Fabian Picardo’s speech to the UN last week continues to rumble on.
Spain’s deputy prime minister Soraya Sáenz de Santamaría insisted Picardo had displayed ‘a lack of respect’ toward Spain’s law enforcement agencies and to Spain in general.
“I think that the statements speak for themselves,” she told reporters.
Spain reacted furiously when Mr Picardo used the phrases ‘police and military incursions’ and ‘shots fired’ to illustrate Spanish aggression toward Gibraltar during his address to the UN’s Fourth Committee.
The Spanish Government has now said it is making a formal diplomatic protest to the British Government and would write formally to the chairman of the Fourth Committee urging him to take ‘appropriate steps’.
Arsenio Fernández de Mesa, the director general of the Guardia Civil, described the comments as ‘indecent’ and said Spain was exercising “impeccable restraint in the face of provocation from the Rock.”
Yesterday two Spanish police unions said they would take legal steps against the Chief Minister following his UN statement.
The Gibraltarian government has complained that Spanish politicians had focused solely on two or three phrases of a much longer speech that spoke about the need for constructive dialogue for the benefit of communities on both side of the border.
The Guardia civil is Federal Military status police force, consequently what has the Chief Minister to answer for? the only civil police forces in Spain are the Policia Nacional and the Policia Local.
Why are they still moaning about this when the jetski incident is on Youtube?
Possibly need to keep the ‘crisis’ all over the front pages gven what Barcenas said on Friday?
Spain still bitching about Gibraltar, haven’t they got better things to do now Autumn is here like sorting out the bankrupt country and finding work for the 27% unemployed and rooting out the fascist still running around what is supposed to be a western democracy.
The truth hurts!
Unfortunately many Spaniards for some reason are believing the lies their papers and television and Government spout.
Every day the GC patrol boats are in our waters (yes we do have some as the UN says so and Spain are in the UN last I looked). And shots were fired.
Yet another example of how the EU fails at every turn. I wish i could tell my grandfather to let the germans have spain!
Do the initials PP stand for **ss P**r it should as they will insist in using poor judgement at all times as far as I can see