Gibraltar: an anniversary

The people of Gibraltar are celebrating 300 years of British rule over a territory connected to the Spanish mainland -- much to the irritation of Spain itself, which claims ownership. The United States maintains official neutrality in the longrunning dispute between the two NATO allies, but leans towards the British position for foreign and defence policy reasons.

How does one justly resolve such an issue? The original British seizure of Gibraltar in 1704 can hardly be defended, but three centuries have now passed and the territory's residents strongly oppose any change in its status. Despite its contiguity with the Iberian peninsula, there is much to be said for the argument that Gibraltar is legally British territory, just as the Falkland Islands are.

On the other hand, if Gibraltar is considered a British colony in Spain, then perhaps there is something to be said for handing it back to its rightful owner, which has never given up its claim or recognized British sovereignty. After all, the age of colonialism is past. This is the approach Britain took towards Hong Kong in 1997. Yet if Britain gives up control of Gibraltar, then there is little reason for Spain not to relinquish its hold on Ceuta and Melilla, two cities on the Moroccan coast which it has held for 500 years. However, Spain is unlikely to budge on this issue.

It is difficult to know how to go about justly settling such a territorial conflict, since Britain's expressed willingness to negotiate will likely be perceived by Gibraltar's residents as abandonment by their preferred rulers. The similarity to the unionist stance in Northern Ireland is evident here, the principal difference being that Gibraltar does not have a substantial ethnic Spanish minority comparable to Ulster's Catholics.