Residents of border villages in Piva, as well as other residents of the municipality of Plužine, will block the Plužine - Sarajevo road on Monday, June 9, from 13 to 15 p.m., near the gas station, as a warning that, if their demands are not met, they will continue to block the road after the tourist season. On the same day, at 15 p.m., their neighbors on the other side of the border will gather at the intersection in Avtovac.
They are demanding that residents of the municipalities of Plužine and Gacko be allowed to cross the border with personal documents via the Ravno u Piva crossing, and that tourists be able to use that crossing as a border crossing during the summer season.
As previously reported to "Vijesti", the opening of Ravno would contribute to the development of tourism on both sides and would make life easier for locals in border municipalities.
In recent weeks, as they stated, the border police of Bosnia and Herzegovina have increased control in that area and some residents of Piva and Gacko, as well as tourists, have already been fined.
"We understand that this crossing is not registered, which is why we are asking for the Ravno border crossing to be brought into legal order and for us to be able to cross into Gacko with an ID card or passport," they told "Vijesti". Sasa Aprcovic i Nikola Golubović.
They point out that the road via Ravno is by far the closest to the Durmitor area and that "if we were lucky", all roads to tourist destinations would lead via Plužine, that Plužine via Ravno is 130 kilometers away from Dubrovnik, and 120 from Mostar.
There are passes for easier crossing for residents from border areas, but, as they claim, only a small number of them can obtain them.
"According to the rules, 90 percent of the population cannot complete the passes, because in order to get a pass, someone must have land or a house on one side of the border, and a job and place of residence on the other. What about those who have all this in only one municipality, and their border is right there. At a time when borders are opening everywhere in the world, they are closing them to us, regardless of the historical, fraternal and economic ties of the residents of Piva and Gacko," said Aprcović and Golubović.
President of the Municipality of Plužine Slobodan Delic He previously told "Vijesti" that both municipalities, Plužine and Gacko, initiated the establishment of the crossing, but without results from the competent institutions.
"The protest and anger of citizens are justified, because due to the silence of the administration and the failure to resolve the issue of the crossing, they are forced to replace a 30-kilometer road with a route that is over 100 kilometers long," Delić pointed out.
Residents of border villages in the Gacko municipality said that they are connected to the residents of Piva "by family, godfather and brotherhood", that a large number of residents in these areas have land on both sides of the border, and that the road across Ravno, which connects the municipalities, is 35 kilometers long, while they have to travel 100 kilometers on the surrounding road.
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