evidence: Nuno Melo, Portugal’s defence minister, has rekindled a diplomatic row over the contested sovereignty of Olivenza. Though the town and its 12,000 inhabitants have been under Spanish control since 1801, some Portuguese groups claim it should have been handed back to them 16 years later. Speaking at a military parade in Estremoz, in the Portuguese district of Évora, 40 miles across the border, Melo said that "Olivenza is Portuguese", adding: "In fact, by treaty, Olivenza should be handed over to the Portuguese state." Portuguese campaigners have long compared their claim to Olivenza, or Olivença in Portuguese,