LETTER TO THE EDITOR

WILL FUTURE GIBRALTARIANS BLAME US FOR NOT HAVING HAD THE COURAGE OF OUR CONVICTIONS?
 

Dear Sir
 
When the full contents of the Cordoba Agreement eventually became known to us, the first and immediate effect was the collective realisation that we had been landed with a serious, controversial document of far-reaching proportions, which would affect the lives of the present and future generations of Gibraltarians. As a consequence, judging by the opposing views being expressed in the correspondence columns of the local press at the time, as well as the lively,sometimes impassioned discussions taking place in the streets, in the clubs and public places, one inescapable, logical conclusion became patently obvious. Whatever merits or demerits the Agreement may embody, the one thing is undoubtedly achieved, whether intentionally or unwittingly, is to bring out in the open the great divide that exists within our society on the iniquitous Spanish claim to our homeland.
We have on the one hand those who subscribe to the line of thinking that there is no danger in going along with the Agreement, with all its connotations of concessions and appeasement, presumably in the sincere belief that Spain will be persuaded to abandon her policy of harassment and that as a quid pro quo she will begin to show genuine respect for the Gibraltarians. On the other hand, we have those who believe fervently that the Agreement's ultimate aim is to steadily erode our resolve to defend our dignity as a people, and that if it is left to prosper, Gibraltar as we know it today, will cease to exist. In other words, that the Agreement is nothing more nor less than part and parcel of osmosis " A la Espanola with a Gibraltar ingredient".
Only History will demonstrate in years to come, what would have been the better path to have followed for the good of Gibraltar. Above all it is to be hoped that future generations of Gibraltarians will not accuse us of not having had the courage of our convictions, but rather were allowed to be led up the garden path by those among us to whom dignity, honour and pride mean nothing more than old-fashioned ideals which have no place in today's material world.For the present,however, each and every Gibraltarian able to do so, will have to decide to which camp he or she belongs, and declare their support for either one at the appropriate time, which by all indications will be sometime during Summer or early Autumn this year. At that juncture in our history, our future as a people wil take the direction that we decide on, the die will have been cast, and the Rubicon crossed. And then when all has been said and done, we and the world outside, and very especially our next-door neighbours, will find out exactly what stuff Gibraltarians are really made of.

Yours faithfully
James Gracia