COMPLAINT FILED AGAINST CROATIA TO BERN CONVENTION SECRETARIAT

NOVI GRAD, JUNE 8 /SRNA/ - The Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Relations in the Council of Ministers and the associations Green Team Novi Grad and the Aarhus Center Sarajevo have submitted a complaint against Croatia to the Secretariat of the Bern Convention at the Council of Europe due to activities regarding the establishment of a Radioactive Waste Disposal Center at Trgovska gora, right on the border with BiH, the president of the Green Team Mario Crnković told SRNA.

Crnković stated that this is another international step in the fight against Croatia's intention to build a nuclear waste storage facility at the Čerkezovac location, which will endanger the Una River basin and the citizens of BiH in that area. "A nuclear facility in a border area is anything but a harmless matter. This is a question of basic human rights, good neighborly relations, health, nature, and a life without imposed risks for the people living along the Una River," said Crnković. If radioactive waste is planned a kilometer or two from the Una River and BiH, Crnković says, then no one has the right to say that this is not also a problem for BiH. "The complaint to the Bern Convention relates to the protection of wild species, natural habitats, and the ecosystem of the Una River. So far, the mechanisms of the Espoo and Aarhus conventions have already been activated, which relate to cross-border impact assessment, access to information, and public participation," Crnković stated. On the other hand, as he said, the Bern Convention now opens another important question - what happens to nature, species, and habitats if such a project continues without complete and verifiable research. He called on Croatia to present hydrogeological research, groundwater movement, possible contamination routes, and the state of species and habitats. Crnković pointed out that the competent authorities from Croatia have not, at any stage so far, provided sufficiently clear, complete, and publicly verifiable answers about the possible impacts of the project on the Una basin. Croatia plans to store radioactive waste from the Krško Nuclear Power Plant, as well as existing institutional waste, at the Trgovska gora location in the municipality of Dvor, right on the border with BiH.