Wednesday, August 21, 2019 - 09:40 Carmen Gomez

With people like the CBF about, we will never achieve our goals on the question of our seas

Last Wednesday evening, on Newswatch, we witnessed once again, a high ranking officer, in this case the Commander British Forces Cdr Tim Henry, take us a step backwards. He was very genuinely asked by the Head of News, if he recognized and understood our anxieties over the constant illegal incursions into out British Gibraltar territorial Waters, to which in his reply, he not only went back to the old and well worn chestnut of “safe passage;” but furthermore thought there was nothing unusual about these sort of goings on.

Very disappointing to say the least; not only because we are very aware of what it means, but we also know that it has nothing to do with the issue in question!

This is why I always say that those in charge of our affairs will play with phrases and words till the cows come home; and in the end, however much we remind the pertinent authorities of the rights of the sea and our entitlements, we might as well stop wasting our breath, because nobody is taking a blind bit of notice! So unless we see a change of mentality here, it is obvious that we will never achieve our goals on the question of our seas; of this I am quite certain.

On the subject of our waters, why did Sky News, or the BBC for that matter, find it so hard to say “British Gibraltar Territorial Waters,” when reporting that the tanker “Grace I;” which by magic has since changed name; was detained in Gibraltar?

21-08-19 PANORAMAdailyGIBRALTAR