Tuesday, June 13, 2023 - 11:14

The Special Committee on the situation with regard to the Implementation of the Declaration on the Granting of Independence of Colonial Countries and Peoples

Full text of a speech delivered by SDGG Chairman, Richard Buttigeig

Good afternoon Madame Chair and members of the Committee.
Thank you for the opportunity to address you all.
In 1969 General Franco, the then fascist dictator of Spain, closed the frontier between Gibraltar and their country.

In doing so, he tore families apart, destroyed businesses on both sides of the border and totally alienated the people of Gibraltar from the outside world. The generation that lived through that endured great hardships because of the political whim of a person who thought we could be brought to our knees.
What he never realised is that the will of the people of Gibraltar cannot be broken. Instead of destroying us, the closure of the frontier became one of the most important events that helped shape the unique identity of the Gibraltarian.
There was great social cohesion, we learnt to adapt so as not to depend on Spain for food and other vital supplies and, perhaps most important of all, it fostered a huge sense of belonging to our Rock which prevails to this date.