Non-governmental organizations gathered in the "Big Beach or Big Lie" coalition are organizing a public camp today and tomorrow, under the slogan "Freedom for the Beach!".
Boško Milović, one of the organizers from the NGO "Optimisti", said on TV Vijesti's Boje jutra that they expect a large response from local residents and activists.
"Today, the Big Beach is being defended by local residents and activists from the entire non-governmental sector, so we have all come together around this. And I have to tell you that something like this, I don't think it has ever happened before, that everyone takes one side. The problem is certainly very big and it is a difficult challenge as soon as everyone stands up for it. There is also a great response from the local population, local governments and business people, so without all of them we would not be able to do this. Tomorrow, we will have a big action to find some places where we have some small landfills and we will clean them up together with the rest of the program that starts today at around 5 am. The main message is that we will not give up this beach because this is the last 13 km of wilderness that we have on our coast, and our coast is small and a beach like this simply does not exist anywhere in our region and we cannot allow it to turn into some concrete monster that threatens us," he said.
The aim of the camp, which will take place at the Laguna kite center from 17 p.m., is to send a clear message about the need to preserve Ulcinj's Velika Plaza as a public and natural asset. Andrijana Mićanović from the Montenegrin Society of Ecologists invited citizens to come and learn about the preservation of the area.
"This is not just a camp dedicated to Velika Plaza, this is not a camp that concerns only Ulcinj, this is really a camp that concerns the public space in Montenegro in general, the protection of space. So, symbolically, we are at Velika Plaza because the current ruling structure sent us there because everything somehow happened in such a way that various plans and projects were drawn up in that area without any consultation with either the professional public or the local community. So, we are not fighting against development, nor against investments, but we are actually sending a message that the way all this has been done so far regarding the agreement is not the way decisions should be made regarding our public space, which is the public good of all citizens, so the beach is just one space that is currently potentially in danger, and it is only a matter of days before that interest will be transferred to another area," she stated.
The camp is being held in anticipation of the MPs' re-decision on the Agreement with the Emirates in the field of tourism and real estate development, because President Jakov Milatović has not signed it. Ksenija Medenica from CZIP pointed out for Boje jutra TV Vijesti that she hopes the MPs will change their minds.
"We exercised our right to participate in committees, but last week, when the law was returned for reconsideration, we decided to address the MPs once again through arguments, arguments compiled by experts from various fields. So, this is the first time, it seems to us, that the civil sector has come together around this issue in a broader spectrum because it is not just us who deal with the environment, nature protection, but also colleagues who deal with the rule of law, who deal with spatial planning, who deal with the economy, with various aspects that this agreement could affect, so we have gathered around this common idea to try to prevent such an agreement from being implemented and somewhere to ask the MPs again to think about what they are actually doing with this decision of theirs today, that they are not only affecting us at this moment, but also future generations. We are talking about a 99-year lease, which means approximately four future generations, and for example, the first project for Velika Plaža was presented, which the Prime Minister advocated at the Prime Minister's Office and defended very fervently. "And the drawing that was presented to us contains in that one area intensive construction of hotel complexes, marinas, then an airport that we are particularly concerned about. Then universities, hospitals, all sorts of things in a protected area," she pointed out.
If the state does not abandon the plan, Medenica states that they will consider how to influence it from a legal perspective by filing criminal charges and initiating certain procedures.
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