Support Croatian-Bosnian protesters against nuclear waste dumping!

[Paola Lucchesi <paola.lucchesi@mail.inet.it>]

On Saturday, 24th March 2001, for the second time in little more than a
month the citizens of the Banovina region (to the southeast of Zagreb,
stretching until the border with Bosnia) will take to the streets to
protest against a project by the Croatian government to create a nuclear
waste depot in the abandoned mines on Trnovska Gora, a hilly spot just a
couple of miles from the border with Bosnia, which is marked in this region
by the beutiful "emerald river" Una, on whose protection environmentalists
NGOs and groups of citizens from all three bordering states (Croatia,
Serbian Republic of Bosnia and BiH Federation) are coming closer in an
unprecented coalition.

The planned dumping site should be located in the former silver mines near
the hamlet of Majdan, in the heart of a territory which is extremenly rich
in water sources, with a humid and porous soil. The Una flows into the Sava
river just a few scores of miles to the east, while the Sava flows into the
Danube in the heart of Belgrade: whatever incidentwith nuclear waste in the
planned dumping site would therefore have fatal consequences for a much
wider part of Central-Eastern Europe.

Moreover, the inhabitants of the concerned region are heavily hit by a deep
economic and social crisis following the collapse of Jugoslavija and the
two wars (in Croatia and Bosnia) that swept just across this region.Five
years after the end of the clashes, the situation is still dramatic
(destroyed or closed productive plants, high unemployment rates, still
unresolved refugees crisis, scanty infrastructures). The strongest hopes
for a better future are based on the development of high-quality
agriculture (a project for a centre to support organic agriculture in
Dubica, one of the small cities on the Una river, has just been partially
financed by the Croatian government), and ecologic, responsible tourism.
There are already some projects being developed in this direction.

Therefore, the implementation of a nuclear waste dumping site in the heart
of this region is in total opposition not only with safety, but also with
the wishes and hopes of the local people.

The environmentalists groups feel that the government is pushing this
localization as its last chance, since as many as five other locations had
to be discarded in the last few years owing to the fierce opposition of the
local inhabitants. The region of Banovina (and of the Una valley in
particular) is weaker since it's still half-empty of a part of its original
inhabitants (mostly the Serbian who fled in 1995, since their retunr is
going slowly). Therefore, opposition to the nuclear waste project started
with a delay, but is taking on rapidly.

The most worrying factor, however, is the hypothesis that the planned depot
would serve not only the need of the Krsko power plant (located in
Slovenia, a few scores of km. from the border with Croatia and its capital,
Zagreb; the plant is co-owned by Slovenia and Croatia, and a source of
endless polemics between the two states). The planned dumping site is
apparently much larger than needed for Krsko alone, therefore there are
suspicions that other projects are involved: more precisely "hospitality"
for nuclear waste from the French and German nuclear industry. Heavy
concern has been cause by the visit of a delegation from FRAMATOM to the
president of the Croatian Republic, Stjepan Mesic, in Zagreb last week.

Croatia has recently shown its fragility in resisting external pressures
from large multinational concerns. A notorius case is the contract forced
by the US concern of electric power, Enron, which had been signed already
at the time of late president Tudjman: the new government tried in vain to
renegotiate some disastrous economic conditions (forcing the empoverished
republic to buy electric power at much higher rates than the market
average), but hade to give in to political rpessure openly exerted from the
US through the US ambassador in Zagreb! The consequences have hti home on
average citizens when a few months ago elctric bills went up nearly thirty
percent in Croatia. This is just one of the most blatant examples of things
that are happening in Croatia.

Against this background, the hypothesis that pressure could be put on the
government from outside Croatia to take in nuclear waste "imported" from
western Europe is extremely worrying.

The environmentalist local groups from the Banovina region, led by the
youth group Kaos (for Kostajnica) and Roda (Sisak), have already gained
support from colleague groups all over Croatia (abouth thirty of them so
far, but the movement is growing), and the action has spilled across the
border, where about sixty more groups are gathering around the historical
Unski Smaragdi (the Una Emeralds, based in Bihac), which have been
agitating for over fifteen years on the protection of the Una river and
valley, with an outstanding program of education for children and youth in
cooperation wiht local schools.

The time has now come for this movement to get as much international
support as possible. Please, join in!

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(translation of the text by the Croatian newsagency HINA on FRAMATOM's
visit to Zagreb, March 13th 2001)

"The President of the Republic, Stjepan Mesic, has received in Zagreb the
representatives of the Freanch company for nuclear technology FRAMATOM with
whom he discussed the disposal of nuclear waste from the Krsko power plant
and its modernizationb - as communicated by the President's office.

FRAMATOM's delegation explained the President what possibilities are
envisaged for a collaboration in the disposal of waste from the Krsko
nuclear power plant, and for the implementation of a modern control system
for the plant itself, to improve its safety; the President's office states
that there have already been talks with Slovenia on this issue.

FRAMATOM is the most famous European corporation for nuclear technology in
the field of power production, and has recently completed a merger with the
German Siemens".

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PETITION
of the local NGOs and groups of citizens against the planned dumping site
for nuclear waste on Trnovska Gora

We opposed the planned location to build a dumping site for nuclear waste
on Trnovska Gora. We believe it is an act against nature and the enviroment
in which we live!! We believe that the choice of the location is
technically mistaken because the area is rich in water natural sources and
the soil is particularly porous, thereby contradicting the guidelines of
the IAEA recommendations Tecdoc no.789
"Preparation of safety arrangements
for near surface radioactive waste
disposal".

The site under question is located at just a few miles from the Una river
and the border between Croatia and Bosnia-Hercegovina, therefore whatever
problem originating from the dumping site would have heavy consequences for
the relationships between the two countries.

Moreover, we believe Croatia does not need to build such a large site since
it does not produce an amount of nuclear waste that would justify the need
for it. All the waters in the area flow into the Una river, that we regard
as an ecologic resource to develop our region in the sectors of ecologic
tourism and organic agriculture.

The environmentalist NGos and groups of citizens of the Banovina region,
other Croatian regiona and Bosnia-Hercegovina support the initiative to
have the Una river protected as a world reserve of the biosphere under
UNESCO patronage.

Let's think of the future, because our children are in danger!


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Please, sign the petion and/or send letters of support to:

- KAOS- Kostajnicka Alternativna Scena:   tel/fax:00385 
(0)44/851 281;e-mail:
daniel.pavlic@sk.hinet.hr

- UNSKI SMARAGDI: (tel. and fax)  0038737-333130

- The mayor of  Dvor (small Croatian city, the nearest to the site
location), mrJuranovic - tel/fax:00385
(0)44/871 133