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24 September to 07 October 2002 (1/Oct/2002) This Press Release was issued yesterday to the Portuguese Press, by the "Forum Olivença", and makes an appeal to its members (as well as ALL PORTUGUESE AND FRIENDS OF PORTUGAL),to write to the newspapers (English or Portuguese) with the objective to bring about some pressure on them to take up this important and worthy cause: Press Release Anticipating, that, in the next Portuguese/Spanish Summit on 2 & 3 October, Spain renews its proposal for the Spanish Government to rebuild the N. S. Ajuda Bridge, located between Elvas and Olivença; The Spanish Government having manifested its intention to rebuild the bridge, not for altruistic reasons, but by doing so it can extract juridic and diplomatic advantages that would allow it to transform into sovereignty by its simple supremacy held over the Olivença territory; There being no doubt that the Spanish intervention in the rebuilding of the N. S. Ajuda Bridge places Portugal's sovereignty rights over Olivença in danger, as recognized by the Lisbon Civil Courts of 15 July 2001; And having Dr.Durão Barroso, in 1994, while as Foreign Affairs Minister, suspended the agreement signed at the 1990 Portuguese/Spanish Summit for the two countries to rebuild the bridge together; The "Forum Olivença wrote to the Prime Minister of Portugal requesting that, in the interests of national defence, to close once and for all the process of negotiations with Spain about the N. S. Ajuda Bridge and to start treating the issue as closed as it should have been a long time ago: and make it an exclusive internal matter to the Portuguese State, and which Spain has nothing to do with, and the fact that through it subjects Portugal to an intolerable foreign interference. The "Forum Olivença" sees the continuation of the N. S. Ajuda Bridge in a semi-destroyed condition as constituting a symbol of the Spanish occupation of Olivença and reveals the less than friendly way that Spain treats Portugal, and that it should only be rebuilt when the Spanish State complies with the 1815 Treaty of Vienna, and returns Olivença, and the bridge to be subjected to repairs and consolidation only by IPPAR, without any intervention by Spain. With the Portuguese/Spanish Summit taking place at a time when Spain is in negotiations with the United Kingdom about the future of Gibraltar, and Morocco having initiated a polítical-diplomatic plan with the view to recover its sovereignty over the enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla, the "Forum Olivença" considers that to defend Portugal's dignity it is necessary that we should present Spain with a formal claim for the restitution of Olivença, a process in which all Sovereignty Institutions should be involved, being the reason why the intervention of the President of the Portuguese Republic was requested as well as the President of the Republic Assembly. 30/09/2002 - "The Coordenation" Send this article to a friend "Forum Olivença" is a discussion and debate group. Everyone will gain by it, especially OLIVENÇA.