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LATEST NEWS - Tuesday 2 April to Monday 8 April 2002
03/Apr/2002 - Source: Newsnight, BBC2
Peter Caruana says Spain should return Olivença to Portugal
In an interview on the BBC current affairs programme "Newsnight" yesterday,
Peter Caruana, a lawyer and Gibraltar's Chief Minister, made a solid
defense against Spanish claims over Gibraltar. He also refused to accept
Spain's 35 million Euros as a sweetener for its share of sovereignty.
Responding to questions during the interview, he stated that Spain should
honour its commitment made to Portugal and return the occupied territory of
Olivença.
Making a clear reference to the Treaty of Vienna to which Spain was a
signatory at the end of the Napoleonic wars he said: "...Spain is sitting
on a Portuguese town called Olivença which they are treaty bound to return
to Portugal, and with a similar population to Gibraltar, which they even
refuse to discuss with Portugal, and here's London rewarding that Spanish
attitude,...there's no logic to it."
During the interview Mr Caruana also stated that if Spain was making claims
on Gibraltar, then she could also make claims on Portugal because of its
geographical and historical links.
Perhaps a timely reminder of the real threat that Spain poses not just to
the general peace and stability of the region, but particularly to the
integrity of Portugal, and its right to exist as a free, sovereign state.
Rui A M da Silva
http://www.portugal-livre.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/whatnow.html
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