Threat to hopes of Gibraltar deal

Britain was ceded sovereignty to Gibraltar in 1704

MADRID, Spain -- Gibraltar's opposition leader has pledged to "sabotage" any deal Britain and Spain might reach if it went against the demand of the Rock's inhabitants for self-determination.

"We will never, ever make concessions on sovereignty," Gibraltar Socialist Labour Party leader Joe Bossano said on Tuesday.

"We will never, ever give up the right to self-determination."

Bossano, a former labour union leader and Gibraltar Chief Minister for two terms until he was unseated in 1996, was speaking the day after it was revealed Britain and Spain have been holding talks in recent months about the future of the colony.

The two countries have set a target of December 2002 to try to resolve the centuries-old dispute over it.

Diplomatic battle

Britain took over Gibraltar in 1704 and was ceded sovereignty in the 1713 Treaty of Utrecht.

But the Rock, as it is popularly referred to, has since been a persistent thorn in relations with Spain, which hopes to regain the territory.

The near 30,000 residents of Gibraltar -- now a major duty-free tourist destination and offshore financial centre -- are strongly opposed to Spanish rule and demand they decide their future.

Spain has frequently held up European Union legislation or forced Gibraltar to be excluded from community directives as part of its diplomatic battle to win it back.

British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw and the Spanish Minister of Foreign Affairs, Josep Pique, began the current round of talks on July 26 and are to meet again in Barcelona on November 20.

A UK Foreign Office spokeswoman said sensitive talks over the future of the British colony were restarted in July.

Pique said on Monday: "The government is convinced that we cannot maintain the status quo and we have the political will to make serious progress. Any advance will be positive."

The Foreign Office spokeswoman stressed that Britain stood by its commitment that there would be no change in sovereignty without the backing of a majority of the population.