CAMPAIGN CALENDAR OF THE PLATFORM FOR THE DEFENSE OF THE RIVER EBRO


September 00:
" Spanish National Hydrological Plan (PHN) published
" Convergencia (Catalan governing party) ambiguous from the start, speak about compensations and water needed in other parts of Catalonia
" First General Assembly forming the Platform in Defence of the Ebro (PDE)
" 21/9/00 Demonstrations in Tortosa every Friday evening throughout the winter start

October 00:
" 8/10/00 Huge demonstration (300,000) in Zaragoza (Aragon)
" 14/10/00 Start driving a procession of cars around all the Terres de l'Ebre region (the south of Catalonia, along the Ebro, population about 100,000, "capital" Tortosa) on various Saturdays, informing people and gaining support
" 28/10/00 Demonstration of the Terres de l'Ebre (20,000) in Amposta (on the Delta)

November 00:
" 12/11/00 Demonstration in Zaragoza
" 14/11/00 Strong "anti-democratic" declarations by Agriculture Minister (Sr.Cañete) about how quickly this bill would be passed
" 25/11/00 Second General Assembly in Tortosa (normally held in the theatre, capacity about 1000)

December 00:
" Convergencia speak about reducing the transference from 1,050hm to 200
" 3/12/00 Cut off the national coastal road
" 17/12/00 Congress of technical experts and scientists from all over Spain and Europe in Tortosa for a New Water Culture

January 01:
" 30/01/01 National Water Council votes in favour of PHN (though scientific experts present vote against). Convergencia's representative unable to attend due to a sudden indisposition

February 01:
" 2/2/01 The Friday demonstration in Tortosa involves 1,000 people in a candle-lit procession
" 4/2/01 Demonstration of the Terres de l'Ebre in Mora (25,000)
" 25/2/01 Huge demonstration in Barcelona (300,000)
" Local Covergencia politicians will protest against the PHN

March 01:
" repeatedly in March the Catalan Government say they will refuse to accept this PHN, as it is now, and these figures of water transferences
" Local delegation of the Catalan Government is formed for the Terres de l'Ebre
" 8/3/01 Convergencia vote against PHN in Catalan Parliament but the very next day they tell the PDE that this won't have much importance
" 11/3/01 Huge demonstration in Madrid (at least half a million)
" 17/3/01 Jordi Pujol received by 2,000 demonstrators in Tortosa. In an interview with PDE he promises to help in EU
" 22/3/01 Convergencia vote in favour of PHN in Madrid Parliament
" 27/3/01 Manolo Tomas (PDE) allowed to speak in Environment Commission in Madrid Parliament

April 01:
" 21/4/01 Third Assembly in Tortosa fills theatre once again
" 23/4/01 Start "Human Chain" outside the Catalan Government's Delegation in Tortosa. People chained up from 9am to 7pm everday until 21st June
" 26/4/01 Convergencia once again vote in favour of PHN as it is passed in Madrid Parliament. There is an amendment to create a body (PIDE) dedicated to "protecting" the Delta from the effects of the PHN, but the quantity of transference remains 1,050 hm
" 29/4/01 Demonstration of Terres de l'Ebre in Tortosa (25,000)

May 01:
" 1/5/01 Street Race around Tortosa in favour of our campaign
" 7/5/01 PP and Convergencia voting against our campaign in Tortosa Town Hall starts a long summer of resignations and party-swapping in local councils of Terres de l'Ebre towns and villages
" Anonymous leaflets and graffiti against the Platform start to appear
" 26/5/01 Full day of PDE activities in the town of San Carlos (on the Delta) including children's games, concerts, speeches and technical conferences

June 01:
" 19/6/01 Writers, singers, and other artists visit Delta and sign manifest in favour of PDE
" 20/6/01 PHN passed in Upper Chamber (Senate)
" 22/6/01 Human Chain finishes. Demonstration in Tortosa featuring the "wedding" of Jordi Pujol, Catalan President, and President Aznar

July 01:
" 1/7/01 PDE paella making competition in Xerta
" PDE participate in the Renaissance Festivals of Tortosa
" 13/7/01 Catalan Govt. Environment Minister, Felip Puig, finds road blocked off by hundreds of demonstrators as he tries to visit the Delta
" 14/7/01Puig comes again to open some local "fiestas", once again to be jeered by hundreds of local people, who respectfully allow the fiestas to go ahead
" 14/7/01 About 300 PDE people canoe down the river from Xerta to Tortosa


August 01:
" 5/8/01 Bicycle ride through the Delta to start off the Blue March (about 200 people)
" 10/8/01 Blue March from the Delta to Brussels starts. First stages in the Terres de l'Ebre involve thousands of people, walking all day and partying all night!
" The Blue March will go through Aragon, France, to Germany and Holland. It is received in the Town Halls of Lyon and Paris and the Parliament of Maastricht, gives a press conference in the French National Assembly, speaks at a Summer congress in front of many MEPs in France. A minimum coachfull of campaigners are from all around Spain, with representatives from Portugal and France too, although the majority are from Catalonia and Aragon.

September 01:
" 8/9/01 Blue March arrives with about 50 exhausted people being received in Brussels' Town Hall
" 9/9/01 Demonstration of at least 10,000 people in Brussels (in the rain)
" 10/9/01 Hundreds of people stay on to visit the Parliament as PDE hands in our documents to Environment Commission and Petitions Commission
" 11/9/01 As people arrive back at the Delta, celebratory demonstration and fun and games in L'Ampolla (5,000 people)
" 15/9/01 Conferences, exhibitions, games, concerts all day in Tortosa's park to celebrate the PDE's first anniversary
" 16/9/01 Motorbike excursion around the Delta organised by all the local motorcyclists' groups

October 01:
" 6/10/01 Debates in Tortosa on PDE's evolution and ideas for the future of the Terres de l'Ebre
" 6/10/01 Concert of famous Catalan pop group in Tortosa for the PDE
" 9/10/01 Amendment to Flemming Report, criticising PHN, is passed in EU Environment Commission with support of all parties except PPE
" 19/10/01 About 500 people assist assembly in Jesus, village on outskirts of Tortosa

November 01:
" 10/11/01 Jordi Pujol "received" by about 500 people in the morning as he visits the Terres de l'Ebre. In the afternoon about 800 people peacefully sit down in the road as he tries to visit a factory in Amposta, delaying his visit by a couple of hours
" 11/11/01 Jordi Pujol cancels his visit to Tortosa's cathedral, but still about 800 people congregate there to show our disapproval of his sudden interest in visiting our area
" 15/11/01 The amendment to the Flemming Report is upheld in the EU, causing PP to retire the entire Report
" 17/11/01 Fourth Assembly in Tortosa. Biggest and most successful yet


December 01:
" Over 1,000 Christmas cards to Romano Prodi and Margot Wallström
" 1/12/01 Visit of Alexander de Roo to the Delta (Vice-Commissioner EU Environment)
" 2/12/01 300 cars drive slowly causing delays along the coastal road to Hospitalet. Here the 800 people involved demonstrate in front of the works for the transference of water to Barcelona and peacefully cut off the road for an hour
" 4-6/12/01 PDE delegation assists Water Conferences in Bonn
" 5-9/12/01 PDE group join Blue March in Malaga in the south of Spain
" 15/12/01 The "National Audience" courts declare the projected Santaliestra reservoir to be illegal
" 22/12/01 Christmas party in Tortosa's central market

January 2002
" letter writing campaign to Michel Barnier (EU funds)
" mercury and other pollutants are found in the river and drinking water supply, coinciding with the death of thousands of fish
" 5/1/02 Jordi Pujol writes 2 page article in La Vanguardia praising Convergencia's policies on PHN and Terres de l'Ebre, which is answered a week later by the PDE
" 12/1/02 small local demonstration about the mercury and pathetic state of the Ebro gets national TV coverage
" 22/1/02 Spanish Environment Minister, Jaume Matas, presents the environmental programme for the EU while Spain holds the Presidency. Alexander de Roo replies to this pointing out the clear contadictions between their environmental objectives and putting the PHN into practice
" 26/1/02 theatrical representation of the Death of the Delta in Amposta

February 02
" 1 and 2/2/02 Congress of MEPs in the Delta
" Presentation of documentary about the PDE and PHN
" 9/2/2 procession of cars around the Terres de l'Ebre
" throughout January and February local assemblies in each town
" 17/2/02 demonstration in the "heart" of the Delta

March 02
" 2/3/02 Technical experts and MEPs in Barcelona for New Water Culture Congress
" 10/3/02 Demonstration in Barcelona

Not to forget the activities going on continuously:
" weekly meetings in each town and village, plus one combined one of the Terres de l'Ebre on Wednesdays
" money-raising ideas, material to sell, concerts, lotteries, raffles, donations
" a stall in Tortosa's market giving information and selling our products (plus similar systems in each town)
" poster and banner design and painting twice a week
" letter campaigns
" conferences all around Catalonia
" publishing our own magazine
" regular press conferences
" visits to Brussels

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