Otok Municipality Clears Path with Police Aid; Resident Blocks Bulldozer

A tense standoff occurred in the Otok municipality as residents, supported by police, began clearing a path through private property. The family of Ivan Jukić vehemently opposes the action, asserting that the proposed route crosses their ancestral land and that the municipality lacks the necessary permits.

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We received a notice from the Otok municipality's public order service that a path would be opened through our land. We appealed, but never received a response. Despite this, work began and our wall was removed.

Antonio Jukić, Ivan's son, explained that they received a notice from the Otok municipal authorities about the path's construction over their land. Despite filing an appeal, they received no response. Work commenced, and their wall was removed. He stated that the area was previously a natural watercourse, and filling it has led to flooding that threatens their homes and their safety.

The Jukić family has filed criminal complaints against several individuals, citing suspicions of irregularities in the elaboration of the project and the execution of the works. Antonio Jukić claims the project is based on the municipality's assertion that a road existed there before the Road Act came into effect, a claim they dispute with aerial photographs from 2011 showing no such road.

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After filling the watercourse, floods occur, water enters the houses, damages their structure, and endangers people's safety.

This dispute is part of a long-standing conflict involving Ivan Jukić and his three brothers against Danijel Jukić, owner of the construction company Jukić-Dam. The latter has built and is constructing villas with pools on adjacent parcels, requiring access roads. The Jukić family alleges that Danijel Jukić filled the natural watercourse to build these access roads, causing water to flood their properties.

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These are villas with pools, and an access road is needed to reach them. On part of the land he bought, he filled a centuries-old watercourse, after which the water has nowhere else to drain and flows towards our houses, which are regularly flooded. The municipality declared an unpaved road where there was never a road. Now they are coming to asphalt it. That road leads nowhere except to Jukić's houses.

Ivan Jukić recounted a past incident where a bulldozer allegedly moved towards his daughter, Petra, while she was outside their home. He expressed his disappointment, questioning what his late mother, who urged her children to defend the country, would think of their current struggle. The family is seeking public attention to their plight.

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I would like you to record this and, if possible, publish it in the newspapers. I remember my late mother's words before the Homeland War: 'My children, we must all jump in – old and young, male and female – to defend the country.' All four of us brothers jumped in, my brother was the first doctor of the 4th Guards Brigade. Today I wonder what she would say if she saw what is happening to us.