TNAG-0694-FCO40-844-Inspection-of-Hong-Kong-Department-1977 — Page 150

E' &

accordingly und I regret that there some signs of

feeling against HMG"

are

A letter of 15 July to the Prime Minister from Mr Peliza

:

an Opposition Assembly Momber and former, Chief Minister

Gibraltar including the passage, that; "from,

Mr Hattersley's reply the people have rightly come to

ચ્

the conclusion that notwithstanding the much quoted safe

i

guards in the Constitution, the Foreign and Commonwealth

Office is determined to compel the people to change their

expressed, wishes of remaining British in a British

Gibraltar and look forwax towards Spain for a better

future.

A report from Mr Corbett MP of a meeting between

Mr Peliza and MP's at Westminster, during which

Mr Peliza is reported to have said that he feared that

if Spain ended restrictions as a price of entry to the

and defence cuts hit Gibraltar, "this, could starve

Gibraltar into Spain", and that it seemed that Britain's

polloy was to tire out the people of Gibraltar so that

they would make a deal with Spain.

Jobal reactions in Gibraltar to the talks with Spain'

12 November have shown that this kind of thinking in still

alive in Gibraltar (Gibraltar tels nos 89, 90 and 101

attached). * T

I also attach Gibraltar helno: Personal 218

in which the Governor spells out the current sensitivities in

Gibraltar.

3. When the merger, however presented, becomes public

knowledge, further, complaints along these lines can be

expected: the merger in likely to be pointed to as

confirming that it is IMG's intention to force the Gibraltarians to make a deal with Spain. Although HMG has firmly denied such intentions and given long-standing:

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