Eco-activists from Mostar accuse Minister Džindić of working for suspicious investors

SARAJEVO, (Patria) - Residents of the village of Kuti Livač, about ten kilometers north of Mostar, gathered around the Eco Association Kuti, who have been fighting against the opening of a quarry for months, are now pointing the finger at the Minister of Industry and Energy, Nermin Džindić, accusing him of illegally favoring investors who have bypassed legal procedures. Eco-activists find it problematic that the federal level now wants to unblock a process based on false confirmations that the area where the quarry is to be opened has been demined.

The Eco Association Kuti received a response from the mentioned Ministry stating that, on the recommendation of the FBiH Government to attract and retain foreign investors, a letter was sent to the Federal Civil Protection to clear the area intended for the quarry of mines, in coordination with BHMAC and the investor.

They also state that Minister Nermin Džindić's actions confirm that the area is indeed mined, and emphasize that if justice and law exist in the country, all previously issued permits would automatically become invalid.

Residents claim that opening a quarry near their homes would lead to an ecological catastrophe and that they would all have to move out. That is why they have started fighting to prevent the opening of the quarry. They also state that the company "Majdan Kuti" obtained the necessary concessions and permits illegally. They suspect corrupt practices and fraud, as it is a business worth millions of marks.

- One would think that the Government should issue a document declaring the quarry a 'public interest.' Instead of these investors opening a factory or investing in the existing cow farm located 50 meters from the planned quarry, which was opened by a young man, they are destroying and polluting the environment by mining and devastating the area, the association states.

Eco-activists question whether there is criminal liability in the case of Minister Džindić, who declares himself incompetent when asked by the residents of Kuti village, only to change his opinion when an investor asks him. The fact that Džindić is willing to prepare the ground for a private investment at the state's expense, according to the activists' opinion, indicates that "if you are on good terms with the minister, you can do anything.".

The Eco Association Kuti, as a party to the proceedings, addressed the Federal Ministry of Energy, Mining and Industry, based on the information received, stating that the investor MAJDAN-KUTI is asking for their help in opening the quarry, which has stalled at the cantonal level, i.e., to have the area of the future quarry demined at the expense of taxpayers. Residents emphasize that the company in question obtained all previous permits (concession, environmental permit) based on an expert opinion issued by BHMAC stating that the area has been demined, i.e., cleared of mines, which represents an unprecedented precedent.

They emphasize in the end that they do not oppose demining, but they believe that it is first necessary to annul the permits obtained on false pretenses that the area has been demined, through the ongoing court proceedings and the review of the concession issuance.
Furthermore, they state that the area immediately behind the houses also needs to be demined, and they question why that is not the priority, rather than a private quarry whose opening the residents oppose.

The Eco Association Kuti concludes by stating that Minister Džindić and acting director of the FBiH Civil Protection, Enes Memić, are forcibly taking over the opening of the quarry in the Kuti settlement into their own hands.