Shutting the Gate

One of the fondest dreams of General Francisco Franco is to reclaim Gibraltar for Spain, and in pursuit of that aim he has gone to considerable lengths in recent years. In order to convince Britain that it ought to abandon its claim to the Rock, Spain has choked off vehicular border traffic, forbidden overflights of Spanish territory by British military aircraft, and even secured a United Nations General Assembly judgment condemning Gibraltar's "colonial situation." Last week, in reaction to the proclamation of a new constitution for the self-governing colony, Spain struck the harshest blow yet: it closed the border completely, barring 4,838 Spanish workers from access to their jobs in Gibraltar and in the process depriving the Rock of one-third of its labor force.

Think Twice. London was angered. Foreign Secretary Michael Stewart pledged in the Commons that "Her Majesty's Government, with the full support of this House and the country, will do whatever is necessary to maintain the freedom and the way of life of the people of Gibraltar." There would be no official retaliation, he explained, but he suggested that Britons might "think twice and many times before in future making plans to go to Spain for their holiday." Gibraltar, hurt but by no means crippled, stood defiant. "The Gibraltarians are making do," TIME Correspondent John Blashill reported from the Rock. "They are pitching in, answering the call, much as their British cousins did during the Blitz. The Navy dockyards are functioning. Essential services are working. Shop owners have put their wives and teen-age children behind the counters. The men of two British battalions are filling in where needed: hauling cement, unloading ships, baking bread, even serving at times as busboys and waiters in the tourist hotels."

In the age of decolonialization, Gibraltar and its 25,000 people--descendants of immigrants who came from as far away as Genoa, Malta, Arab countries and India--hold an anachronistic loyalty to Britain. Two years ago, they voted 12,138 to 44 in favor of staying British, and posters still enjoin: KEEP GIBRALTAR TIDY--KEEP IT BRITISH. Gibraltar has virtual freeport status, and its tidy bazaar economy caters to an average 2,200 tourists a day. Britain has committed a million pounds sterling to building a water-distillation plant and housing for married servicemen.

Bazaar Economy. For the moment, the displaced Spaniards are harder hit than Gibraltar. The Madrid government eventually hopes to absorb them in an industrial complex abuilding outside La Linea de la Conception, the Spanish border town. Because of manpower economies and increasing mechanization, Gibraltar calculates it can replace them with only 1,000 skilled workers brought in from elsewhere. Says Chief Minister Sir Joshua Abraham Hassan: "We have problems, but in the long run the Spaniards have done us a favor."

By everyone's admission, Gibraltar retains little value as a military base except to monitor naval traffic through the straits including the passage of Soviet submarines. The troops and the two fighter planes stationed on the Rock are there merely to show the flag. Politically, more is involved, however. "It is an emotional trigger spot," explains Admiral Sir Varyl Begg, the Governor. Even if Britain eventually decides to pull out--and that seems a most remote possibility--the Gibraltarians' dislike for Spain would probably propel the colony toward independence. Says Sir Joshua: "We have the right not to be subjugated by somebody else."

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