In our century, the International Commission of Limits, an institution where concrete problems of border delimitation are solved, has been the privileged place for Portugal to demand the fulfilment of the celebrated agreements, from which Spain has always exempted itself.
To prevent Spain from making use of a possible tacit recognition of the
border of the Guadiana, the Portuguese Ministry of Foreign Affairs
has reiterated Portugal’s territorial claims to Olivenza. It has done it
especially in this institution, for example in 1952, in 1958, in 1959 and
1968. In 1974, when the International Commission of Limits convened in
Madrid and the Question of Olivença was brought up, the Spanish
delegates proposed that this subject should be submitted to a legal consultant
of this organisation for study. Even though this legal consultant was Spanish,
he recognized Portugal’s legitimate rights to claim ownership of Olivença.
This fact was of foremost importance for the Portuguese pretensions, all
the more so because the Spanish consultant’s opinion was minuted.
Comissão Internacional de
Limites (International Commission of Limits)
Defending the Portuguese right to Olivenza, this association has been operating essentially in this territory, revealing the true Portuguese history of the region, unknown to its inhabitants due to the cultural and ideological manipulations of which the population have been a victim ever since the Franco period.
The Portuguese Olivenza Comittee distribute publications in Portuguese
to the libraries and people of the Territory of Olivenza and supply cassettes
that teach the Portuguese Language. They establish a personal contact with
many hundreds of inhabitants of Olivenza that are closer to Portugal.
Comité Portuguese Olivença
(Portuguese Olivenza Comittee)
Prestigious figures of the fields of literature, science, the arts, the Armed Forces and the business world soon adhered to the group. We can mention Jaime Cortesão, Raúl Machado, Hermano Neves, Raúl Esteves, Hernâni Cidade (president in 1971-74), Gustavo de Matos Sequeira, Rocha Júnior, Alberto de Sousa, Sidónio Muralha, Queirós Veloso (president in 1947-52), Hipólito Raposo, Paulo Caratão Soromenho (president in 1974-81), Cancela de Abreu, Conde de Almada, Henrique Tenreiro, Humberto Delgado (president of the General Assembly in 1958-59), Duque de Palmela (president in 1954-55), Veiga de Macedo, Cupertino de Miranda, João Pereira da Rosa, Tomé Feteira, Moses Amzalak, among many others. The Group of the Friends of Olivenza has carried out a vast number of projects throughout its half-century history. It has permanently established contact with the organs of sovereignty, promoted conferences and debates, published various bibliographical material on the subject of Olivenza, joined the commemorations of December 1st in Lisbon, stimulated the creation of fifty steets around the country reminding people of the Portuguese territory of Olivenza. It has also created some groups of defense of the cause of Olivenza in Portugal, in the overseas territories and in Brazil. Grupo dos Amigos de Olivença
(Group of the Friends
of Olivenza)
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