DistantNews
Support us
🇷🇸 Serbia /Culture & Society

Tens of thousands protest in Zagreb over illegally dumped toxic waste in Gospić

From N1 Serbia · () Serbian

Translated from Serbian and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

News Named sources Ongoing story
  • Tens of thousands of people demonstrated in Zagreb against the illegal dumping of 33,000 tons of toxic waste near Gospić.
  • Protesters demanded immediate remediation and investigations into criminal and political responsibility, accusing authorities of concealing the problem for years.
  • The rally was supported by civic groups, environmental organizations, opposition parties and Croatian President Zoran Milanović.

Tens of thousands of people from across Croatia marched through Zagreb to demand the urgent cleanup of an illegal hazardous-waste site near Gospić. They also called for criminal and political accountability over the dumping of 33,000 tons of toxic waste.

We are not here because we lack laws, but because there are people who did not enforce those laws and because they let us down.

· Vjekoslav BušićThe civic initiative representative blamed authorities for failing to enforce environmental laws.

The protest, called “Walk for Lika, Walk for Croatia,” was organized by the civic initiative “Gospić Is Our Home.” Participants marched from King Tomislav Square to Ban Jelačić Square, where representatives of civic initiatives and environmental groups addressed the crowd. The event drew support from associations, public figures, opposition groups and President Zoran Milanović.

Vjekoslav Bušić, a representative of the organizing initiative, demanded immediate remediation and said political responsibility must be established alongside criminal responsibility. He accused authorities of covering up the problem for years and called for changes to the system.

You stayed silent like the worst traitors for two and a half years after you learned what was in our soil. Shame on you! Those who did this are scoundrels and traitors to their own people, shame on you!

· Vjekoslav BušićBušić accused authorities of concealing the waste problem.

“We are not here because we lack laws, but because there are people who did not enforce those laws and because they let us down,” Bušić said. He said members of the initiative had spent a year and a half seeking information about the site and its possible effects on water and air without being taken seriously.

I am a mother dying of fear that I will watch my children suffer, become ill and leave them in the homeland you created.

· Željka ŠikićA resident living near the dump described her fear about possible effects on her family.

Željka Šikić, who lives about 50 meters from the illegal dump, spoke about residents’ fear for their health and environment. “I am a mother dying of fear that I will watch my children suffer, become ill and leave them in the homeland you created,” she said. She urged people to report irregularities so other communities would not face a similar situation. The protesters said they were defending their right to healthy lives, clean air, clean soil and clean water.

You will not turn us into Europe’s toxic-waste dump.

· Željka ŠikićŠikić rejected the possibility that Croatia would become a destination for toxic waste.
About this summary

Originally published by N1 Serbia in Serbian. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

More Stories

From Our Blog