Luis Ayllón
The Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares, has dismissed the director of the Gibraltar Office, Javier Benosa, who on 3 November wrote an article in the newspaper El Mundo, in which he expressed his criticism of the planned Amnesty Law prepared by the government of Pedro Sánchez.
The dismissal of Benosa, who had been in the post for just over nine months, was expected from the moment of publication and comes at a particularly sensitive time for negotiations on the future of Gibraltar, following the UK’s exit from the EU. The diplomat, who held the rank of deputy director general, will be sent to another post within the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Javier Benosa’s article was not followed up publicly by his colleagues, although many privately expressed their support. Only a large group of retired ambassadors issued a communiqué in the same critical vein as Benosa, while in the Association of Spanish Diplomats (ADE) there was a major confrontation between those who called for support for Benosa and those who considered that this was a political matter in which they should not be involved.
The decision taken by Albares comes just a few days after the appointment as ambassador to Bosnia of Juan José Sanz, until now special delegate of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Campo de Gibraltar, a figure who acted as an “antenna” of the department to get to know on the ground the reality of the colony and the neighbouring area.
In this way, two of the main people responsible for Gibraltar affairs are leaving their posts at the same time, albeit for different reasons.
Sanz’s appointment as ambassador was decided months ago and was awaiting the end of the government’s term of office.
Benosa’s dismissal is a direct consequence of the publication of his public criticism of the amnesty law for those implicated in the pro-independence process, in an article in which he criticised the reaction of his colleagues, who for a long time had to defend abroad the story contrary to the false version of the pro-independence supporters.
The Foreign Ministry argues that the changes ‘were decided some time ago’ and that the final stage of the Gibraltar negotiations will be faced ‘with a new team’.
Minister Albares must therefore appoint the people to fill the vacancies left by Juan José Sanz and Javier Benosa, although the main person responsible for the negotiations is the Secretary of State for the European Union, Pascual Navarro, who is in charge of the Gibraltar Office.
As The Diplomat has learned from reliable sources, the positions held by both Benosa and Sanz were more critical of the approaches taken in the upper echelons of the Ministry, which are more inclined to accept British demands in order to facilitate an agreement soon that would allow the European Commission and the United Kingdom to sign a text that would make possible the idea of “shared prosperity” in the area.
As of today, the Ministry will have to deal with what happens to the fisherman from La Línea de la Concepción Jonathan Sánchez, who has announced his intention not to appear before a Gibraltar court that accuses him of fishing in the waters surrounding the Rock.
The Secretary General for Fisheries has responded to the fisherman’s questions, pointing out that these are Spanish sovereign waters, despite the Gibraltarian authorities’ assurances that they are “British territorial waters of Gibraltar”. Sánchez is asking for protection from the Spanish government, because he fears that if he decides to fish in the area again next week he could be held in contempt of court.
