Early this morning, residents of Botun prevented the Municipal Police from entering the gate of a property planned for the construction of a wastewater treatment plant.
They sat on the ground after unsuccessful attempts by the police to convince them to leave the site where the plant was planned to be built.
After lengthy negotiations between MP Milan Knežević and the police, he told them that they would offer passive resistance. After that, they sat down on the plot, after which the police gave them a five-minute warning to leave the location.
"I ask you to have enough awareness, you mentioned children, women, elderly people, these are categories of people we should be considerate of. And that is why we bear the weight of the decisions, both you as a representative of the locals and me as the manager of the officers engaged here. Let's resolve this in a civilized way, and that is not to offer any resistance. You mentioned passive resistance. And to let us enter the property and bring in the contractor," he said. Director of Waterworks and Sewerage Podgorica Aleksandar Nišavić Knežević.
Knežević replied that they could not do that.
"We will not offer any resistance. We will lie on Zeta land, and you carry us in police cars. And I offer you a gentleman's proposal, arrest only me, and leave these people alone," said the DNP MP.
At that, those gathered around him began to shout: "Everyone! Everyone!".
"It is not right that you are unconstitutionally and illegally mentioning children and putting that responsibility on us. These children are defending the future of these houses in which they live. I am speaking not as a representative of the citizens of Botun, but of the citizens of Zeta, all these people support me. We have neither the strength nor the desire nor the will to fight with the police, nor will we do so. We will retreat. And now let the entire Montenegrin public see how many police came to arrest the citizens of Botun, just because they are fighting for healthy air and the environment."", added Knežević.
The municipal police attempted to enter the gate of the property where the construction of a wastewater treatment plant is planned, about a hundred meters from the place where the Botunjani and other municipal police officers had been standing since just before four o'clock.
A stampede ensued, with the crowd preventing the utility company employees from breaking through the fence, with threats, insults, and curses.
This was the first major incident that occurred two hours after the Municipal Police arrived at the location in Botun. Shortly after this incident, at 6:30 a.m., the police arrived in Botun. The crowd greeted the police with the song "Welcome, the decorated wedding party."
At 3:55 a.m., residents of Botuni and other settlements in Zeta prevented the Capital City Municipal Police from accessing the location in that settlement where the construction of a wastewater treatment plant was planned.
The municipal police informed the police that they were prevented from approaching the location.
The police arrived in Botun. The commander ordered two officers to guard the vehicle to prevent its tires from being punctured.
"Who the f*ck them, they've been beating us our whole lives, so let them beat us now," commented one local resident.
Municipal police officers, the director of the Podgorica Water Supply and Sewerage Company, Aleksandar Nišavić, arrived in Botun with machines at 3:55 a.m. to introduce the contractor to the work of building the facility.
"I am acting on orders from my superiors," he said.
When asked what would happen if access to the plot was not provided, he replied:
"Failure to introduce the contractor into the work entails the possibility of contract termination and other financial penalties, as well as the postponement of the implementation of the project itself."
When asked what if they cannot access the location and whether the police will react, Nišavić replied:
"That is up to their authorities to assess. What was up to the investor, he did. The investor requested the assistance of the Municipal Police, I am not aware of how the situation will develop further."
When asked whether the decision was made at a meeting with the Prime Minister that was held after midnight, Nišavić said that he did not attend the meeting.
The citizens said they did not want to move from "their territory", and the president of the Zeta Municipality, Mihailo Asanović, called on them to leave "their territory".
The leader of the Democratic People's Party (DNP), Milan Kneževič, said that they would provide passive resistance and that they knew that after this, the Municipal Police would inform the police. He also called on citizens not to insult the Municipal Police.
Several hundred citizens gathered in Botun tonight because they had a "tip" that the police would intervene to vacate a location in that settlement where the construction of a wastewater treatment plant was planned.
The people of Botunja also parked a large number of cars on the lot.
The people of Botunja set up the tents on November 14th, and after that they moved them several times in order to comply with a decision by the Inspection Department (UIP) of the Capital City, which ordered them to remove the tents.
The people of Zeta said a resounding "no" to the collector in a referendum, and the people of Botunja rejected the government's offer...
The Capital City, led by Mayor Saša Mujović, with the support of the Government of Montenegro, previously announced that they are ready to implement a series of significant infrastructure projects with the aim of permanently improving the quality of life of the residents of Botun.
The letter that Mayor Mujović delivered to representatives of the residents of Botun states that the Capital, in cooperation with the relevant departments and institutions, as well as with the active participation of the local community, is ready to implement the following projects:
• asphalting of the road between the Podgorica Aluminum Plant and the red mud basin (from the roundabout at “Kips”);
▪ asphalting of rural roads in the territory of Botun;
▪ construction of a facility for the needs of pensioners and the Botun Local Community;
• renovation of a four-year primary school;
• construction of a modern school training ground;
• renovation of the village stadium;
• reconstruction of the low-voltage electricity distribution network;
• permanent establishment of an intercity bus line between Botun and Masline.
The government previously offered the residents of Botunja the rehabilitation of the red mud basin while the construction of the plant is underway, the inclusion of representatives of that settlement and the Municipality of Zeta in the process, the publication of part of the contract with the Turkish consortium, constant measurements of harmful gas emissions, and the promise that Podgorica would suspend the operation of the collector if pollution exceeds what is foreseen by European directives.
Bonus video:
