KOVAČEVIĆ: CROATIAN PARLIAMENT DECISION CONTRARY TO GOOD-NEIGHBOURLY STANDARDS, WE WILL CONTINUE TO FIGHT

BANJA LUKA, DECEMBER 16 /SRNA/ – The decision of the Croatian Parliament to build a radioactive waste disposal facility at the Trgovska Gora site is certainly not a positive signal and could seriously harm relations between Republika Srpska and the Republic of Croatia, SNSD spokesperson Radovan Kovačević said.

“BiH, and Republika Srpska in particular, since the site is located on the border with Republika Srpska, is not a nuclear country, nor a country that uses nuclear energy, and we simply cannot accept that a nuclear waste repository is being built directly on the border with Republika Srpska, in the drainage basin of the cleanest rivers, the Una and the Sana, and next to the Una Nature Park,” Kovačević said.

Kovačević stressed that SNSD is absolutely opposed to a nuclear waste facility at Trgovska Gora and will continue to fight against it.

“We will not accept this, and we will use all available means to oppose and stop it. We have stated this position repeatedly and conveyed it to representatives of the Croatian government, including when Zoran Tegeltija was Chairman of the Council of Ministers and discussed the issue with Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenković. Milorad Dodik has also raised this issue on several occasions with Plenković and Zoran Milanović. However, they have simply not abandoned this plan,” Kovačević said.

He assessed that the decision of the Croatian Parliament is contrary to any good-neighbourly standards.

“Anyone who claims to want good relations with Republika Srpska and with BiH would not engage in such activities or take such steps. This is not acceptable. Until now, Croatia disposed of this waste in Slovenia, and now it has become too expensive, while it is cheaper to dispose of nuclear waste in this area, where Serbs once lived and, unfortunately, almost no longer do, and directly across the border where Serbs also live,” Kovačević pointed out.

He said that this is not a solution, but rather a very negative message.

“All those who present themselves as well-intentioned should abandon this plan as soon as possible and continue to pay what they have paid so far to dispose of this waste in Slovenia, in the manner prescribed,” concluded Kovačević, who is also a Serb delegate in the House of Peoples of the Parliamentary Assembly of BiH.

The Croatian Parliament yesterday adopted the Law on the Construction of a Radioactive Waste Disposal Centre at Trgovska Gora. It was stated that the adoption of this legal solution will ensure spatial and planning designation of the site for the radioactive waste disposal centre and define the conditions for implementation of the project.

Croatia plans to store radioactive waste from the Krško Nuclear Power Plant, as well as existing institutional radioactive waste, at Trgovska Gora in the municipality of Dvor, near the border with Republika Srpska, i.e. BiH.