The Citizens' Initiative (GI) Save Sinjajevina called on Prime Minister Dritan Abazović, the Ministry of Defense and the Army of Montenegro (VCG) to inform citizens whether they plan to conduct a military exercise in Sinjajevina in mid-January.
GI Save Sinjajevina said that in recent days there have been rumors that the Croatian Army and the Ministry of Defense planned military maneuvers in Sinjajevina in mid-January, without waiting for the interdepartmental commission of the Government to finish its work.
They recalled that the Government formed the commission at the end of October last year with the task of finding an alternative solution for the location of the military training ground in Montenegro.
"If these rumors are true, and they probably are, because earlier rumors on this topic later turned out to be reality, it is clear that the Ministry of Defense and the officers of the Croatian Army do not care much about the work of this commission, and even less about the political promises of the previous two governments, and they are riding on the decision from September 2019, which is still in force," the statement said.
GI Save Sinjajevina said that Abazović and other political leaders promised many times in the last two years that Sinjajevina would not be used as a military training ground.
"Unfortunately, these sweet promises have long since tasted bitter deception. It is obvious that the politicians, the prime minister, ministers and officers have again forgotten about the Constitution of Montenegro, EU regulations, international conventions, the opinion and recommendations of the European Parliament, domestic and foreign professional public", said the GI.
As they added, everyone forgot again that there are citizens of Montenegro and the herding community of Sinjajevina, and that they were handed a petition against the military training ground in Sinjajevina with more than 25 thousand signatures.
GI Sačuvajmo Sinjajevina said that the exercise, which they prevented in 2020, was also a rumor at first, and that only after the public appearance of the members of that GI, then Minister of Defense Predrag Bošković admitted that the exercise was really being prepared.
They said that, unfortunately, this practice continues, despite the fact that the Ministry of Defense is now headed by Filip Adžić, who in 2020 protested and participated in preventing a military exercise.
"Forgetfulness, when it comes to the military training ground in Montenegro, is spreading like an epidemic among civil servants," the announcement states.
GI Save Sinjajevina said that, continuing their policy of ignoring the people and basic rights of citizens, the Government and the Ministry of Defense did not even respond to the request of 73 non-governmental organizations that asked for a representative of that GI to be included in the working team to review the decision on the military training ground on Sinjajevina.
As they pointed out, GI brings together representatives of the local livestock communities of Sinjajevina, but also numerous other citizens of Montenegro who care about the ecological state and the protection of its vital interests.
"Instead of transparency and a public discussion that would include the people of Sinjajevina and take into account all the relevant facts when considering the decision to turn Europe's largest Balkan pasture and biodiversity gem into an international military training ground for target shooting, the practice of ignoring citizens continues and work teams and commissions are formed whose opinions are determined in advance by the will of the principals," the GI pointed out.
They said that the people of Sinjajevina and other citizens and activists, who fight for the protection of human rights and nature, strongly oppose the decision to establish a military training ground on Sinjajevina, and said that they will not allow a military exercise to take place on that mountain at any cost.
"We will be in Sinjaevina on January 15 and every other day until the decision on the military training ground is canceled and Sinjaevina is declared a protected area," said the GI Save Sinjaevina.
They invited all citizens of Montenegro to join them in the fight for the preservation of Sinjajevina, the largest Balkan pasture and the most important agricultural and livestock resource of Montenegro.
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