Alberto Garcia Watson: UK’s Seizure of Grace I Clear Example of Maritime Piracy

Alberto Garcia Watson, political analyst and activists, says following the ruling of the European Parliament, its laws are not adopted in Gibraltar, and UK’s enforcing EU laws there is only for justifying British maritime piracy to seize Grace I.

In an exclusive interview with FNA, Watson shed light on the territorial rules violated by the UK’s seizure of Grace I supertanker in Gibraltar.

“Gibraltar is a war booty which Britain has maintained because of logistical interest… The treaty of Utrecht in 1713, brought peace after the bloody wars of succession… According to the treaty, this territory/colony would not be entitled to jurisdictional territorial waters or airspace. Nevertheless, over the years the United Kingdom no longer respects the agreements reached in this treaty.”

Alberto Garcia Watson is a political analyst, journalist and human rights activist. He was a contributor to various TV channels and written press as a political expert and analyst.

Below is the full text of the interview:

Q: The vessel is claimed to ship oil to Syria. Even if true, does the UK have the legal right to seize Grace I?

A: The British navy was unaware of the destination of the ship Grace I, on the 5th of July; but they decided to intercept it and accuse it of making for a Syrian port, before even verifying the documents.

This is a flagrant case of maritime piracy and it makes no difference where this vessel was going; what is frankly serious is that while Syria is suffering an aggression provoked by the US and Israel, financed by the [Persian] Gulf Wahhabi monarchies, it is on the brink of a humanitarian crisis, not only as a result of the war imposed by the West and their proxies in the region, but even worse because of the sanctions which are strangling a country in a situation of collapse.

Syria, which in the past has extracted 400,000 barrels of crude oil a day (before the attack of the Jihadists, disguised as “Arab Spring” in 2011, can now only reach a production of scarcely 24,000 barrels per day, since 80% of the oil fields lie within areas controlled by the USA and where Kurdish militias intend to form a Kurdish State in the future. Kurdish representatives have already met with Israeli authorities in the US, with a view to sealing an agreement to exploit Syrian crude. This is the real crux of the problem, that a country which exports oil has no access to its own natural resources and is forced to turn to friendly countries to supply them with fuel, because theirs is being stolen by Israel, always with the loyal help of the USA and mercenary Kurdish militias.

Q: Why do you think Spain has condemned the British forces' inspection and detention of the tanker?

A: The Spanish Foreign Minister, Josep Borrell, pointed out that the attack on the tanker, carried out by the British naval authorities and Gibraltar shore police at the request of the USA in Spanish territorial waters, has caused a diplomatic protest to the British authorities.

The treaty of Utrecht in 1713, brought a peace after the bloody wars of succession, imposing the French Borbon dynasty in exchange for ceding the island of Menorca and the rock of Gibraltar to the British crown. According to the treaty, this territory/colony would not be entitled to jurisdictional territorial waters or airspace. Nevertheless, over the years the United Kingdom no longer respects the agreements reached in this treaty, recently attacking fishing boats in the Bay of Algeciras, which they believe to be British waters.

According to the history of its origins, Gibraltar is a pirate port, engaged in money laundering of drug trafficking and corruption being a tax haven and headquarters of drug and tobacco trafficking, situation recognized by the UE and OCDE.

Q: Gibraltar is not an EU member state. Why do you think the UK administers the EU laws on such a territory?

A: Gibraltar is a war booty which Britain has maintained because of logistical interest, being the entrance to the Mediterranean and as a financial point of capital of dubious precedence; one more case of pure British colonialism.

This offshore territory, with its nearly 6.8 square km, has 24,000 registered companies and is denominated as “offshore”, where important financial entities take their business and part of their patrimony to avoid taxes.

Nevertheless, Gibraltar is not a territory with full rights within the European Union. It is a colony as has been determined recently in a sitting of the Euro parliament and is ruled by special laws very different from the European and as such, the attack on the ship does not hold to any law and represents, as a great majority of experts indicate, and is a clear example of maritime piracy.

Source: Fars