Otočac Mayor Arrives in Zagreb: “Stop Underestimating Lika, We Demand Urgent Cleanup”

Otočac Mayor Goran Bukovac joined the “Gospić Is Our Home” civic initiative at a protest in central Zagreb, saying his presence was the least he could do for Lika. He called for people across Croatia to stand together and reject what he described as the region’s systematic neglect.

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That is the least we could do for Lika, to come to Zagreb today. To walk together, all of Croatia, so that the people of Lika and Lika itself are not underestimated, and so that the hazardous waste brought to Gospić and other parts of Lika is removed and cleaned up as soon as possible.

“ That is the least we could do for Lika, to come to Zagreb today,” Bukovac said. “To walk together, all of Croatia, so that the people of Lika and Lika itself are not underestimated, and so that the hazardous waste brought to Gospić and other parts of Lika is removed and cleaned up as soon as possible.”

The protest focused on hazardous waste that, according to Bukovac, had been brought from Gospić and left at various locations across the region, including near schools. He urged the Croatian government and all relevant institutions to begin remediation without delay.

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I call on the Government of the Republic of Croatia and all relevant institutions to start cleaning up the hazardous waste as soon as possible.

“ I call on the Government of the Republic of Croatia and all relevant institutions to start cleaning up the hazardous waste as soon as possible,” he said, adding that further postponement could not be tolerated. Bukovac said the issue concerned the whole country and called for solidarity to protect public health and Lika’s natural environment. He also demanded accountability across the system, asking who had allowed the situation to happen.

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The entire system must seek responsibility from the system that shows who allowed something like this to happen.