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