ACADEMIC COMMUNITY AT PROTESTS Zaimović: A roadway cannot be between two university buildings, UNSA's stance has been ignored for 15 months

(Patria) - A press conference was held today at the Rectorate of the University of Sarajevo, where the University's stance on the Regulatory Plan "Quadrant C – Marijin Dvor" was presented. Given that the Sarajevo City Council session is scheduled for tomorrow, with this Regulatory Plan on its agenda, a protest gathering of the academic community is scheduled for 9:30 AM in front of the City Hall to highlight the shortcomings in the plan.

Rector of the University of Sarajevo Tarik Zaimović stated that the regulatory plan envisages the entire transit traffic passing between two buildings, the Faculty of Natural Sciences and Mathematics and the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering of UNSA.

"This is not a property issue; we are not talking about expropriating property for the needs of private institutions. We will exert maximum effort and use all legal means available to defend the interests of the University. This is a matter of daily safety for students who come daily through an area that is supposed to be a zone of intense traffic," said the rector.  

He also pointed out that the plan converts green areas around the Faculty of Natural Sciences and Mathematics buildings and near laboratories and research centers into parking spaces.

"It is unacceptable for parking lots to be right next to a laboratory. UNSA has expressed its readiness in the past few days to work with the City Council and the KS Development Planning Institute on a solution that will not endanger student safety and will not disrupt daily operations.

We are not dealing with private capital, nor are we interested in what kind of center will be there or its number of floors. We are only concerned with the proposal concerning the University of Sarajevo. As the Senate of UNSA, we decided to address the media. UNSA should have been consulted institutionally, and our proposals for amendments were rejected and deemed unacceptable," stated Zaimović.  

Dean of the Faculty of Natural Sciences and Mathematics Nusret Drešković said that they became involved in this issue during the public discussion held in October 2024, which they learned about through the media.

"As a faculty, together with the Senate, we submitted very clear remarks, namely that the solutions planned on university land are unacceptable to us, including the safety aspect. The Faculty of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, as a leading research institution, must continue to develop. What gentlemen see as empty space is the area where the Faculty of Natural Sciences and Mathematics and laboratories should further develop.

Through the Legal Protection Office, we informed them that the land on which the Faculty of Natural Sciences and Mathematics and the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering are located is private property. Given that they ignored our remarks, I signed a report that we sent to the Office for Combating Corruption. Public interest has been neglected, and private interest has been prioritized. The Office stated that it was an early stage and that they had issued orders to the inspection for checks. As a University, we have taken all measures regarding the protection of our property. The final step we are forced to take is peaceful protests. According to the Law on Spatial Planning, we have no possibility to decide anything other than the formal remark we submitted," said Drešković.

Ali Jusović, representative of the Student Parliament, said that this concerns student safety.

"We cannot agree to solutions being planned through this area that will endanger student safety.

Student safety must not be collateral damage of urban planning decisions. We cannot accept student safety being treated as a footnote in projects. We understand the city's needs, but it cannot come at the expense of the University's space and should not jeopardize projects that could make this area a center of science. Our request is humane: to respect the University's space and property. We are defending the students' space, the right of young people to come to faculty safely," said Jusović.

Rector Zaimović, responding to journalists' questions, stated that it is not the University's task to tell the Institute how to build, but that they have not been invited to a meeting for 15 months.

"Since December 2024, we have been trying to send a message that we are dissatisfied, seeking meetings; today, we had our first meeting at the Institute. At this moment, as presented on the agenda, it is the regulatory plan that explains that plan. We hope they will withdraw the proposal and leave room for UNSA to agree on an amendment to the RP regarding the relocation of the roadway.

UNSA's master plan envisages a pedestrian overpass connecting the Campus with Wilson's Promenade, the so-called green oasis. With this RP proposal, all of that is practically destroyed. All of this goes beyond the scope of the strategic plan for the development of the Campus as a project of special importance," stated Zaimović.

If the city councilors adopt the proposed regulatory plan tomorrow, the University of Sarajevo will prepare a request for an assessment of the constitutionality of that document.

"After that, we will pursue a legal battle to turn that idea into reality. I am sure that Mayor Karić will not do anything that is detrimental to UNSA. Try to explain that UNSA's land is being taken for the construction of a roadway for a private facility. UNSA will use legal means. Tomorrow, we will express our dissatisfaction in a way that will make the city councilors see their professors at their doors," said Zaimović.