Representatives of the local communities of Bokovo, Đinovići and Kosijeri from Cetinje filed a criminal complaint with the Special State Prosecutor's Office (SDT) against non-governmental persons in the Ministry of Capital Investments (MKI) and the Government on suspicion of abusing their official position in the concession process for the Milošev Krš quarry.
The application states that one or more unknown persons in the MKI and the Government from June 7, 2021 to December 28 of last year, taking illegal actions by using their official position and authority, exceeded the limits of official authority with the intention of obtaining for themselves or others a certain benefit.
It is added that it was done contrary to the State Plan for the exploitation of mineral raw materials for the period from 2019 to 2028, the laws on the strategic assessment of the impact on the environment and the capital city of Cetinje.
As stated, it was done contrary to the Law on the Environment, the Law on Confirmation of the Convention on the Availability of Information, Public Participation in Decision Making and the Right to Legal Protection in Environmental Issues (Aarhus Convention), the Law on Mining and contrary to the Constitution of Montenegro.
"After which the Government of Montenegro, at its session on July 30, 2021, adopted the information on the Plan for granting concessions for detailed geological research and exploitation of mineral raw materials for 2021 with the Report from the public hearing, which caused damage to all citizens and their property in local communities Bokovo, Đinovići and Kosijeri of the Capital of Cetinje", the application states.
It is added that the suspects intentionally committed the criminal offense of abuse of official position in connection with the criminal offense of negligent work in the service.
In the press release of the three local communities, it is stated that the criminal complaint was preceded by a detailed investigation in order to determine how and when the Milosev Karst became a concession site.
"Local residents and local communities that would be directly threatened by the quarry - they are not involved in the decision-making process, nor have they been informed," the announcement states.
It is said that Milošev krs is a hill that the country road leads to Bokovo, Đinovići, Kosijeri, Mikulići, Tomići, Štitari and other villages, and many people did not even know the name of that place.
“Now they know. During the research, a number of indications and suspicions appeared that behind the non-transparent, arrogant, arrogant process in the highest bodies of the executive power, there may be someone's intention to pass everything without information and potential resistance from the locals, i.e., an intention for an extended period of time," the statement says.
It is emphasized that a violation of the Constitution, Article 23, as well as several articles of the Law on Strategic Environmental Impact Assessment was found, not only in the case of the Milošev Krs concession, but also in the case of other concessions from the Annual Concession Plan for 2021 proposed by the MKI. and adopted by the Government, eight months after the legal deadline.
From the local communities of Bokovo, Đinovići and Kosijeri, they said that the public debate on the draft annual plan lasted from June 7 to 22, 2021, for the legally minimum 15 days, without a round table.
"And the invitation was published only on the Government's website and the opinions of several state institutions and local administrations were collected, without the opinions of citizens, and not even of the mentioned local communities as legal entities on whose territory or in the immediate vicinity the quarry is planned," said those local communities. .
They asked the MKI and the Government, former Prime Minister Zdravko Krivokapić and technical Dritan Abazović, former Minister of Capital Investments Mladen Bojanić and current Ervin Ibrahimović Ibrahimović, whether they had heard of the Law on Strategic Environmental Impact Assessment and the SEA Directive of the European Union.
As they said, the Aarhus Convention, of which Montenegro is a signatory, was also violated, from the very selection of the disputed location, through the processing in the form of a concession act, and the announcement of the tender.
"As stated in the application, the entire procedure was conducted secretly, with a series of irregularities, and the consequence would be the devastation of the wider area of three local communities. That will not happen," the statement said.
It is stated that it is one of the last mechanisms of civil defense of rights, but also of the rule of law, the law and the Constitution of Montenegro.
Bokovo, Đinovići and Kosijeri have, as they announced, formed expert teams for the fields of ecology, legal protection, international cooperation and translation, which are doing everything to prevent the quarrying at the institutional level and to prevent field, extra-institutional activities, civil disobedience , roadblocks.
"The petition against the quarry and specific activities against the environmental impact assessment report for the Milošev Krš concession were supported by many civil activists and environmental organizations, as well as university professors, who themselves prepared a number of comments," the announcement says.
It is stated that three local communities received the support of the mayor and local administration of the Capital of Cetinje.
They said that they addressed the Ombudsman, the Delegation of the European Union in Montenegro, the Embassies of the United States of America and Great Britain, as well as the Greens of Europe and the Party of European Socialists and their parliamentary groups in the European Parliament.
Those three local communities emphasized that there is no politics, political divisions, or favoritism or criticism in their struggle, but rather a struggle for human rights and the environment.
As they said, a public discussion is underway on the Environmental Impact Assessment Report for Milošev Krs, which, according to them, is particularly critical, inaccurate, copied from earlier reports and shows extreme disrespect for citizens and underestimation of their intelligence by the author and the client .
"I guess they got into the habit of passing public forums without locals, so they took it easy on Bokovljane, Đinoviće, Kosijere, Uliće, Markodoljane, Mikuliće, Tomiće, Štitare, Orašane and others," the announcement says.
From the local communities of Bokovo, Đinovići and Kosijeri, they said they are waiting for the Environmental Protection Agency to announce a new date for the public forum and the deadline for submitting written comments on the report.
"For now, we have prepared about 40 pages, and we are only halfway through the work," concluded the three local communities.
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