Gibraltar rebuffs Spain and Britain in a referendum on the colony

<br>GIBRALTAR (AP) _ Nearly 99 percent of voters on Gibraltar rejected the idea of Britain sharing its colony with Spain in a stinging rebuff to any plans for joint sovereignty. <br><br>The Thursday referendum

Friday, November 8th 2002, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

GIBRALTAR (AP) _ Nearly 99 percent of voters on Gibraltar rejected the idea of Britain sharing its colony with Spain in a stinging rebuff to any plans for joint sovereignty.

The Thursday referendum carried no legal weight but packed considerable political punch in the near 300-year old dispute between Spain and Britain over the British colony at Spain's southern tip.

Although there was never any doubt about strong opposition, the result exceeded expectations with 98.97 percent of the 21,000-strong electorate voting 'no' to the question: ``Do you approve of the principle that Britain and Spain should share sovereignty over Gibraltar?''

Just 1.03 percent, or 187 people, voted 'yes.'

The plebiscite was called by Gibraltar Chief Minister Peter Caruana to protest British Foreign Minister Jack Straw's statement on July 12 that an agreement in principle had been reached with Spain on sharing sovereignty.

Fellow Gibraltarians, today we have sent a clear message to the world and it is roughly divisible into three parts,'' Caruana said ``One, that this is our homeland.

``Two, that we are a people with political rights that we will not give up, and three, that those rights include the right to freely decide our own future and that, we will certainly not give that up.''

To rousing cheers, Caruana said Spain must now take into account that Gibraltarians ``do not want what Spain wants.''

He then called on Britain ``to take stock of this referendum result,'' adding that ``joint sovereignty is a dead end.''

Britain and Spain have both dismissed the vote as irrelevant but few doubt it will affect efforts to end their dispute. Britain has said it is prepared to share rule if residents go along. Gibraltar insists it wants to remain British and refuses to attend any talks unless given an equal say.

On Friday, the British Government repeated that it would not strike a deal with Spain ``without the approval of the people of Gibraltar.''

British forces captured the 1,400-foot-high rock from Spain in 1704. Spain formally ceded it nine years later has never given up on trying to get it back. Once a strategic military post, Gibraltar is now a major tourist resort with important offshore banking and port facilities.

The old garrison town was plastered with posters saying ``Give Spain No Hope,'' and a Spanish hit song dubbed with lyrics against shared sovereignty could be heard from shops and bars.