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Croatia's Lika Region Protests Hazardous Waste Dump and Lithium Factory
๐Ÿ‡ญ๐Ÿ‡ท Croatia /Culture & Society

Croatia's Lika Region Protests Hazardous Waste Dump and Lithium Factory

From Veฤernji List · () Croatian

Translated from Croatian, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Named sources Ongoing story
  • Citizens in Croatia's Lika region are protesting against two environmental hazards: illegally dumped hazardous waste and a new lithium factory.
  • Protesters demand the immediate cleanup of the waste site and the revocation of the permit for the lithium factory, citing a lack of transparency and official response.
  • The protest, named 'Walk for Lika,' symbolically connects the two issues as a fight for the right to a healthy environment.

Residents of Croatia's Lika region are organizing a protest, 'Walk for Lika,' to demand action on two pressing environmental issues: a large illegal waste dump and a newly constructed lithium factory.

The citizens' initiative 'Gospiฤ‡ je naลก dom' (Gospiฤ‡ is Our Home) is leading the protest, expressing frustration with the authorities' inaction and lack of clear answers regarding the hazardous waste site. They report that the cleanup of the Silos location, containing an estimated 1,300 truckloads of dangerous waste, has been repeatedly delayed and has not even progressed to the public procurement phase for the majority of the buried material.

On the protest, we decided because the patience of the citizens of Gospiฤ‡ and Lika is exhausted, and the institutions still do not provide concrete answers or deadlines.

โ€” Gospiฤ‡ je naลก dom initiativeExplaining the motivation behind the protest due to perceived inaction from authorities.

Adding to the environmental concerns is a new lithium factory built in the karst landscape near Gospiฤ‡. The initiative claims the factory, owned by a Russian investor, proceeded without a public debate or the legally required environmental impact study. They allege that the investor manipulated documentation to bypass these requirements.

We are walking because neither the waste nor the factory have been transparently explained to us, because decisions concerning the health and future of this region are made without us.

โ€” Gospiฤ‡ je naลก dom initiativeArticulating the core grievances of the protesters regarding decision-making processes.

The 'Walk for Lika' protest aims to connect these two environmental 'defeats' and highlight the perceived failures of institutions and accountability. Protesters are demanding the immediate and complete remediation of the illegal waste, citizen involvement in the cleanup process, the revocation of the lithium factory's permit, and a mandatory environmental impact assessment. They also call for the release of soil and groundwater analyses and the identification of responsible parties.

Organizers emphasize that the protest is not against development but is a stand for the right to a healthy life, clean air, and uncontaminated soil, underscoring the lack of transparency in decisions affecting their region's future.

This is not a protest against development, this is a walk for the right to a healthy life, clean air, and clean soil.

โ€” Gospiฤ‡ je naลก dom initiativeClarifying the objective of the protest as a defense of environmental rights.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Veฤernji List in Croatian. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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