THE SILLY SEASON AND THE SAVAGE ISLANDS

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For expats living in Spain, the current diplomatic spats between Spain and the UK about Gibraltar are uncomfortable, and potentially worrying.

The previously very good relations between Madrid and London have been overshadowed by an often-heated dispute over territory that has lingered for many years. Many observers claim that the current territorial arguments are due to political and economic tensions in both countries, political and financial scandals in Spain, all embraced in the heady mix of the August ‘Silly Season’. Whatever the reasons, frosty relations between countries are always unwelcome news for expats.

Recent news reports of another, and similar dispute, this time between Spain and Portugal, relating to Portugal’s Savage Islands, are both interesting and relevant at this particular time. Although vaguely aware of the Savage Islands, I was not aware of any international hostilities until recently. Little public and media attention has been given to this issue, which has troubling international dimensions.

It appears that Spain has quietly lodged an appeal with the United Nations to have the islands, which are Portugal’s southernmost territory, reclassified as rocks and not islands. This is not merely a question of semantics, because the main purpose is to reduce Portugal’s exclusive economic zone, which is currently the largest in Europe, and a move that would allow Spanish fishing vessels based in the Canary Islands to fish closer to the Portuguese island of Madeira.

The Savage Islands are located between Spain’s Canary Islands and Portugal’s Madeira, which allows Portugal’s territorial waters to reach within 40 nautical miles of the Spanish territory. In terms of distance, the Savage Islands are closer to the Canary Islands than Madeira. The Savage Islands have been a Portuguese territory since 1438, unlike the Canary Islands that were colonised by the Spanish. Humans had never been known to set foot in the Savage Islands before the Portuguese discovered it. Interestingly, the islands also have a reputation as the treasure islands of pirates, and there are many stories of hunting for treasure. According to a number of documents, serious digs have been attempted in recent years to recover the hidden treasure, but nothing was found.

In more recent times, in 1938, the Permanent Commission of International Maritime Law gave sovereignty of the Savage Islands to Portugal and in 1959, the World Wildlife Fund became interested in the islands and signed a contract with the owner, Luís Rocha Machado. However, in 1971 the Portuguese government intervened and acquired the islands, converting them into a nature reserve.

In 1978, the Savage Islands became part of the Madeira Nature Park, which is one of the oldest nature reserves in Portugal, and in 2002, part of the nature reserve was nominated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. A small team of wardens currently inhabits the islands. Over the years, the Portuguese navy has seized a number of Spanish fishing vessels for breaching their territorial waters.

In Spain and the Canary Islands, fishermen firmly believe that these islands should be reclassified as rocks. Although the Spanish Government publicly states that they do not have an issue over the sovereignty of the Savage Islands, their reclassification would effectively remove 700 years of Portugal’s sovereign rights to the islands.

Portugal is currently responding to Spain’s actions with its own submission to the United Nations that contests Spanish claims. In order to underline the point regarding sovereignty, the President of Portugal, Cavaco Silva, recently paid a surprise visit to the islands where he was the first Portuguese head of state to spend a night on the islands, admittedly in the relative comfort of a frigate parked nearby.

The United Nations is expected to issue a verdict on the Savage Islands in 2015. It will be interesting to see if the UN supports the claims of an unpopular Spanish Government towards the Savage Islands, which some claim are similar to the diversionary tactics of the Gibraltar issue. Thank goodness the “Silly Season” is over for another year.

If you enjoyed this article, take a look at Barrie’s websites: www.barriemahoney.com and www.thecanaryislander.com or read his latest book, ‘Twitters from the Atlantic’ (ISBN: 978 1480033986). Available as paperback, Kindle and iBooks. iPhone/iPad and Android Apps: ExpatInfo, CanaryIsle and CanaryGay now available.

© Barrie Mahoney

Filed under: http://www.theleader.info/article/40614/

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