"How is it possible that Abazović persistently repeats that there will be no military training ground in Sinjajevina, and the minister says the opposite?"

A military training ground is not welcome on Sinjajevina, said the Citizens' Initiative (GI) Save Sinjajevina, adding that it is a mountain that should be developed in the future as a livestock and tourist area. From that organization, they said that they were unpleasantly surprised by the statement of the Minister of Defense Raško Konjević, who said that the Ministry of Defense will work in the coming period to create assumptions for the implementation of the activities of the Army of Montenegro in the area of ​​Sinjajevina.

GI Sačuvajmo Sinjajevina said that instead of finally approaching this issue in a responsible and professional manner in accordance with the Constitution, domestic and European legislation, Konjević believes that the decision on the military training ground on Sinjajevina is "illogically abolished". From that organization, they also stated that Konjević said that the communication with the civil sector and the population was not well done "and that bad communication ended with political abuse by which the citizens were manipulated". They said that, instead of taking advantage of the opportunity and finally giving the right answers to the many times asked questions about the problem of forming a military training ground on Mount Sinjajevina, it was Konjević, calling the struggle of citizens for the protection of the mountain, and thus their basic right to life and a healthy lifestyle, a political abuse. environment, resorts to political manipulation. "We are people who nurture tradition, produce food, take care of nature, so how is it possible that someone is trying to present us as a factor that stands between the army and the citizens? We are citizens, the same ones who were not consulted when the government unilaterally decided to turn Mount Sinjajevina into a military training ground," the statement said. GI Sačuvajmo Sinjajevina reminds that this mountain is located within the internationally protected UNESCO area - the transition area of ​​the Tara River Canyon Biosphere Reserve. "How is it possible that Prime Minister Dritan Abazović persistently repeats that there will be no military training ground in Sinjajevina, and that the new Minister of Defense in his government says the opposite?" asked GI Save Sinjajevina. The organization said that together with the delegation of the European Union (EU) and the international scientific project IRIS in Podgorica, they organized Sinjajevina Day, from which the representatives of the municipalities that share the area of ​​this mountain said that Sinjajevina should be preserved for future generations. GI Sačuvajmo Sinjajevina highlighted the fact that according to the Constitution, the right to a healthy environment is a human right. "Our Constitution foresees that everyone has the right to timely and complete information about the state of the environment, to the possibility of influence when deciding on issues of importance for the environment, and to legal protection of these rights," the statement added. As stated, the state is particularly obliged to preserve and improve the environment, as well as to protect natural and cultural heritage. "To this should be added the Aarhus Convention (the 1998 United Nations Convention on Access to Information, Public Participation in Decision-Making and Access to Justice in Environment-Related Areas), which binds Montenegro, as well as the European Union," the announcement states. . GI Save Sinjajevina stated that a few days ago, the Agency for Nature and Environmental Protection sent an initiative to the local governments of Kolašin, Mojkovac, Žabljak and Šavnik to declare Sinjajevina a regional nature park, in accordance with a study from 2016. which was financed by the EU. GI Save Sinjajevina also said that within the IPA project "Establishment of Natura 2000 in Montenegro", which was financed by the EU, the area of ​​Sinjajevina was proposed "as an area of ​​special interest for birds" based on EU standards in the field of nature protection. represents one of the preconditions for the accession of Montenegro to the EU. "Also, Montenegro is obliged to implement the obligations from the Berne Convention, considering that the area of ​​Sinjajevina, more specifically Babji zub (Torna) and Gradište, has been identified as one of the areas within the Emerald network in our country," said GI Save Sinjajevina. They said that despite all this, the uncertainty that Sinjajevina will be kidnapped and poisoned continues, "that we will be expelled from our hearths, which are not temporary, but eternal". "We clearly see that on one side are the informed citizens of Montenegro and the world, the scientific community, the Prime Minister, the EU and the Constitution, and on the other side is the Ministry of Defense, which persistently repeats the baseless story that the military training ground on Sinjajevina will not harm nature or disrupt life on the mountain." the statement said. GI Save Sinjajevina emphasized that the decision to establish a military training ground on Sinjajevina was made without any relevant study on the social and environmental impact of such an action, without an open and public discussion and essential negotiations with the directly affected population. It is added that these are the problems that the new Government should face, and not to avoid these problems by pointing the finger at alleged political opponents. "We are not a political organization, we are just citizens aware of the Constitution and our rights and we want to live in a democratic society where we can participate in deciding on issues of general importance", said GI Save Sinjajevina. From that organization, they invited citizens to join them on the 12th. July from 11 a.m. at the Katun choir on Savina vode in Sinjajevina and in the camp from 8. to 12. July, "in order to send a message together that the military training ground is not welcome on Sinjajevina, and that it is a mountain that should be developed as a cattle breeding and tourist area in the future". They also called on citizens to sign a global petition for the protection of Sinai, which has been signed by more than 15 citizens from Montenegro and around the world so far.