prijava
PRIJEDOR, February 8 (FENA) - Residents of Kozarac today, in a peaceful protest, expressed their disagreement with the route of the future Banja Luka-Prijedor motorway and emphasized their determination to use all legal and democratic means to protect their property and returnee status.
As the protesters said in their message to the authorities, about 90 residential and auxiliary buildings and about 300 hectares of fertile land, used by the residents of Kozarac, would be threatened with the disputed route, without which their survival in that area would be unimaginable.
Therefore, the participants of the rally pointed out that they would not give up on the request to change the route, demonstrating their determination to persevere in finding an alternative solution.
An MP and member of the parliamentary group "Together for BiH" Senad Bratić told FENA that the people from the area have reservations about the explanations for the disputed route, and express doubt that certain political goals lie behind everything.
He reminded that this is a region where numerous war crimes were committed during the war and that returnees have mistrust and fear for their own survival and livelihood.
They believe that there are no economic reasons behind the selected route that passes through Kozarac, perceiving it as a threat to the return process (Annex 7 of the Dayton Agreement), i.e. the right to return and the right to private property.
Bratić says that, with the willingness of the competent institutions, it was possible to design the route of the motorway in a way that would not endanger the returnees and their survival in the region.
"The residents of Kozarac are not against the construction of the motorway, on the contrary, they support it fully, but they demand that the route of the future motorway be designed so that the demolition of existing residential and auxiliary buildings could not be an option," said Bratić.
(FENA) S. R.
