Dear fiends and supporters (Caros amigos e apoiantes)
Looking back at other things that happened during the week, we couldn’t help but acknowledge how so many events appear to be related. The one event that motivates our opinion, was the fact that after nearly two years, and as we were about to give up on any progress, we received news on Saturday that the police had searched the offices of the ENMC and the DGEG this past Wednesday as a result of our request for an investigation into the award of oil and gas exploration contracts, as well as the law on which the contracts are based.
The Correio da Manhã broke the story on Saturday, and we are now waiting with bated breath for the outcome of this investigation.
Late last year, after Galp/ENI released information to the press that they were "abandoning the exploration in the Alentejo Basin", we requested confirmation of the status of the contracts with Galp/ENI due to the fact that the contracts were still active on the DGEG website. The answer we received now, is that there are negotiations taking place. What these negotiations are all about we haven’t a clue at this stage, but I guess we will find out during the preliminary court hearing scheduled for 11 February 2019 at 14h00 in Loulé.
But one thing is clear; there are still 5 active oil-drilling contracts! What will happen in the future? We will have to wait patiently for the outcomes of the various actions that are currently underway.
There’s times when our resilience is tested to the limits, and the past week was one such time, but we grateful that we once again overcame the serious cyber challenges thrown in our path last week, although we are still dealing with some minor issues that were left from that battle. Both our servers, the ASMAA website and the two affected domains are now safe once again, including all of our emails being now operational.
At ASMAA we have been effective in all our actions since we started in 2012, as there’s been NO DRILLING yet anywhere for oil & gas in the Portuguese territory. At the same time, we are also well aware that we are all in the last stretch in this phase of the fight.
We are sure that many other challenges will have to be overcome in the future, because we do not for one minute believe that the government has the political will to stop. There are too many interests at play.
Now, focusing on the funding to assist us as we progress with our campaign and legal actions. First, a warm hearted thank you to all that has so generously donated, especially a big thanks for assisting us in our last call.
Here's where we are at present:
We needed to raise 3,484.68 by 11 January 2019, we raised 1,155.00€, meaning that we are still short 2,329.68€. (Which is now seriously overdue). Added to this are additional fees that we are already incurring as we prepare for our day in court on 11 February 2019.
It has been a challenge to be able to cover our campaign costs month after month, as we are not professional fund-raisers (nor do we employ them) … we are more of an operational and hands-on team, and I’m sure you will agree that our energies are better applied to run successful campaigns, such as we have run since we started. But we can't manage our campaigns without funds (wish we could but we haven’t discovered how to do that).
We now ask you to take a few minutes and make a donation to assist us on keeping on doing what we do best, which is fight to protect YOUR rights in this beautiful country that is Portugal.
DONATE NOW 25€, 50€, 100€ or whatever amount you want to donate. We will be grateful.
You can donate via PayPal (including credit card payments): info@asmaa-algarve.org or through the donate button on our website: http://asmaa-algarve.org/en/donate
Or via Bank Transfer (EFT)
BANK: SANTANDER TOTTA
ASMAA Algarve Surf and Marine Activities Association
IBAN: PT50 0018 0008 02686698020 51
REF: ANTI OIL&GAS CAMPAIGN
You can read more about the police searches on the ENMC and DGEG on the links below. Just scroll down.
Thank you.
Laurinda Seabra & the rest of the ASMAA team
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IN THE PRESS (EN & PT)
Background articles from 2017 (in the press)
PS: PLEASE DO NOT FORGET TO DONATE.