THE celebrations to mark Gibraltar's tercentenary of British rule have turned the waters choppy between EU partners Britain and Spain, which maintains a historical claim to the tiny rocky outcrop on its southern coast. The British Government's decision to send Defence Secretary Geoff Hoon to attend the commemorations has sparked fury in Madrid with the Spanish seeing the move as an unfriendly and unwarranted act.
The British delegation will attend a slew of events scheduled for tomorrow's official celebrations, which include a midday special session of the territory's House of Assembly or parliament before an early evening parade at which the Royal Navy is to receive the freedom of Gibraltar.
Gibraltar, whose population numbers just 30,000, has been a British dependent territory since 1704 when British-led troops captured the "Rock" on August 4. The Treaty of Utrecht of 1713 officially awarded Britain sovereignty but Spain has never accepted the decision.
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This year has seen a series of diplomatic spats with a British nuclear submarine, HMS Tireless, making a second visit in four years last month. In May 2000, Tireless put into dock to have its reactor cooling system repaired and stayed for a year. The June visit of Princess Anne, the first visit to the Rock by a British royal since the Queen made a brief stop-off 50 years ago, further inflamed Spanish passion and the war of words has escalated as the tercentenary celebrations have neared.
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This year's commemoration essentially kicked off last Saturday when the British frigate HMS Grafton sailed into port with flags flying and guns firing.
Despite a weekend attempt by Spanish Deputy Prime Minister Maria Teresa Fernandez de la Vega to cool a growing row by saying her country would seek to "go down the diplomatic road" to reach a settlement, the war of words continued apace yesterday - on both sides. The opening volley was fired by Gibraltar's Chief Minister Peter Caruana, who told Spain it was "none of their business" to criticise the commemoration. "We are not celebrating the sort of military battles fought and won by British forces in 1704, we're celebrating the 300th anniversary of British sovereignty and our relationship with Britain, which has been mutually beneficial and which has given us everything that we have and which we value," Mr Caruana told BBC radio.
"How we choose to celebrate our very close links with Britain and our British sovereignty are a matter for us. ... Frankly for the Spaniards, after 300 years of Gibraltar being British, to try and lecture us on how we should commemorate that is really none of their business and somewhat impertinent," Mr Caruana added.
Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos responded by saying the opposition his country was expressing diplomatically to Mr Hoon's visit, which comes just five weeks after that of Princess Anne, was only an attempt by Madrid "to convey the feelings of the Spanish people in the wake of acts which we consider should not have happened".
At the weekend, a Socialist Party colleague of Mr Moratinos, Alfonso Perales, had upped the ante by calling on Britain not to "behave as countries did in the 18th and 19th centuries with regard to colonies".
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Other events will include naval displays, concerts and a street party, while a human chain will encircle the Rock tomorrow to signify that Gibraltar "is not for Britain to give or for Spain to have", as one organiser noted on Saturday. As Gibraltarians, who voted overwhelmingly to oppose British and Spanish moves to move towards eventual shared sovereignty in a 2002 referendum which neither London nor Madrid recognised, prepared to party, it emerged that a US warship which was to have taken part in the proceedings had pulled out.
Mr Caruana, learning of the news yesterday afternoon, dubbed the move a "huge snub" which "will not be forgotten in a hurry". The American nuclear submarine USS Albany was recently in Gibraltar but Mr Caruana said he believed that the US State Department had instructed the US Navy to withdraw the ship under protests from Spain.
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