Ozone: With the expiration of the concession contract, end the agony over the exploitation of mineral raw materials from Mojkovac

The environmental movement "Ozone" announced today that with the expiration of the concession contract, the agony over the exploitation of mineral raw materials from Mojkovac should end.

"The manner in which the public discussion was conducted on the Draft Detailed Spatial Plan for the area of ​​the concession area for the exploitation of mineral raw materials in Brskovo and the Draft Report on the strategic assessment of environmental impact is unacceptable," Ozon said.

They added that it nullifies the rights of the public to participate in the decision-making process, guaranteed by the Constitution, a whole series of laws and confirmed international treaties, such as the Aarhus Convention.

"The manner of dealing with the interested public, expressed by the relevant Ministry of Ecology, Spatial Planning and Urbanism, during the public discussion so far, and especially at the public presentation in Mojkovac on June 12, for us as an organization that actively engages in encouraging citizens to exercise their rights participation in the decision-making process concerning the environment is unacceptable, and we are convinced that the only correct decision is to stop the public discussion," they stated in the statement.

They pointed out that it is a project that is of public interest, not only, as they say, for current but also future generations.

"Therefore, it requires an extremely dedicated approach to the creation of documents that are under public discussion, with prior consultations with experts and interested members of the public, and maximum transparency, which is lacking, must not be the subject of behind-the-scenes activities, nor favoring private interests," they added.

They added that the draft document at the public hearing contained controversial and contradictory theses.

"They are not harmonized with the documents of a higher order, and that is precisely why we believe that they are in the stage of initial development, and not of a quality that should be the subject of public discussion," they said.

"Ozone" pointed out that they are particularly concerned about the absence of presentations for the Draft Strategic Environmental Impact Assessment, without which, as they say, the public discussion itself does not have an acceptable quality.

"The expiration of the concession contract on July 25 of the current year is another parameter of confirmation of private interest, not public, because it is obvious that the concessionaire wants to show that he has done something during the duration of the contract, which we interpret as an area of ​​public manipulation," the statement added.

According to them, such projects must wait for the outcome of the umbrella planning document of Montenegro, which will also show the development vision, which, they say, is of great importance.

"Because if, as a society, we decide for sustainable development, it would mean a completely different point of view for Mojkovac and the entire country," they added.

They pointed out that because of this, they believe that the expiration of the concession contract creates preconditions for abandoning the exploitation of mineral raw materials from Brskov, and therefore, as they say, agony with the documents that are the subject of this public discussion.

"At the very end, we have to point out that the political moment is unfavorable and that the technical Government does not have the mandate to meet the formation of a new one that could show the will of the citizens, to decide on such an important project, which we repeat in the public interest," they said.

They added that they hope to be able to influence decision makers not to choose the private over the public interest.

"Because every other option opens up space for the examination of corrupt and criminal actions and the participation of prosecutorial authorities in their determination, which we will insist on if an unwanted scenario occurs and the warnings of citizens and the interested public are ignored," the announcement concludes.