Together Gibraltar continues to be appalled by the Government’s attempt to yet again stifle public dissidence, this time in the form of an angry press release aimed at spinning the facts surrounding the GHA walkout of the 30th of July.

Government accuses TG of engaging in “speculation, hearsay, gossip, innuendo and rumour with little regard for the facts” and refers to the attempts by management to list the names of attendees as simple contact tracing protocol.

Unfortunately in its reply, Government omits the fact that the demonstration organisers, Unite the Union, had already engaged in a commitment with the RGP to provide a detailed list of attendees for this precise purpose (these lists are destroyed when no longer useful for contact tracing purposes). This has been the protocol for all demonstrations since the start of the Covid pandemic, and it would seem like a very strange and pointless move to duplicate this task and create a second list of demonstrators in situ.

Furthermore, it has come to the party’s attention that there have already been attempts to retaliate against some of the attendees, something the party will be keeping a close eye on over the following months.

Guaranteeing freedom of speech and demonstration in our community is a fundamental task that requires the commitment of all political forces and the citizens of Gibraltar. This Government should move away from these terrible practices once and for all, use criticism as an opportunity to improve on the fulfilment of their duties, and outgrow the arrogant and condescending tone it uses to rubbish legitimate claims by opposition.