The mayor of the Spanish town neighbouring Gibraltar has been seeking support for an open-border demonstration over fears that deadlocked talks on a post-Brexit treaty could lead to a catastrophe such as that of General Franco era when in 1969 the frontier was closed altogether for 13 years.
A few days ago, cross-border commuters were handed leaflets by the mayor of La Linea, Juan Franco, calling for the march on the evening of October 25 with a warning: “We don’t want another repetition of 1969, when the closure of the border plunged the city into misery.”
He said the protest would be a “historic march to demand an immediate response to the problems affecting the city”.
“The demonstration is not against anyone, but rather seeks special measures for our city to address the difficult situation we are facing, There is a lot at stake,” he added.
The latest salvo from Mayor Franco follows a rise in tensions as the four years of talks between Britain and Spain over the future of Gibraltar have reached a stalemate.
Central to the negotiations is the plan to allow the 34,000 residents of what is also known as The Rock to be part of the Schengen Area, which would allow free movement of people and goods across the Spain-Gibraltar border.
Madrid has insisted that Britain must accept its proposal for Spain to control Gibraltar’s airport or face a so-called “hard border”.
The Rock’s Chief Minister, Fabian Picardo, dismissed that demand as unacceptable and said the UK had made its own offer and “the ball is now firmly in the Spanish court”.
Earlier in October, Spanish border officials were accused of going rogue after insisting residents of Gibraltar, on their daily routine crossing to La Linea, needed a passport stamped rather than the identity card that was generally accepted. While the move caused chaos during rush hour, the requirement was later rescinded.
Tensions continued to rise in the past few days as claims were made that Gibraltar was stockpiling emergency medicine in wartime bunkers over fears that a hard border could restrict imports and jeopardise its health service.
Franco has voiced his frustration at what he called the Spanish Government’s continued neglect of the town’s unique challenges. The mayor cited its reliance on Gibraltar and warned that prolonged border uncertainty could lead to rising property prices and increased economic hardship for La Linea and its inhabitants.
He said the economic and social impact of failure to reach a UK/EU agreement over Gibraltar’s future “would be devastating”, threatening the economic stability of thousands of families and businesses in his city.
The land border between Spain and the British Overseas Territory was shut by General Franco during his siege of Gibraltar. It remained shut until 1982, seven years after the dictator’s death.
