MANS is pleased that the EP recognized the\nimportance of monitoring the situation at the construction site of the\nBar-Boljare highway, sections from Podgorica to Kola\u0161in, especially after the\nResolution on the progress of Montenegro pointed to the need for timely and\naccurate information on the impact of the construction of the highway on the\nriver, on which MANS has been insisting for several months.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Resolution also emphasized the need to\nsuspend all waste disposal activities and the changes in the riverbed in\naccordance with Montenegro’s obligations regarding the preservation of areas\nunder special national and international protection.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In its Resolution on Montenegro, the European\nParliament once again criticized the Government regarding the highway project\nand reminded of the responsibilities that Montenegro assumed by signing\ninternational agreements when it comes to protecting the Tara River as a\nspecially protected area.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
By this, European MPs sent a clear message to\nthe Montenegrin authorities – that Tara, which is on the UNESCO World Network\nof Biosphere Reserves, is a European river, and that it will not allow its\nfurther devastation, as MANS has been pointing out since October, when it published the first footage\nfrom the site on Tara.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The footage made in October showed that the\nTara riverbed on a section slightly longer than 5km, in the part between\nMate\u0161evo and Jabuka, is unrecognizable and degraded, with a displaced riverbed,\nchanged structure of the bottom and the coast with destroyed biodiversity and\nlandscape.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
New footage from November showed that CRBC on\nboth banks of Tara deposited huge quantities of construction waste from nearby\nconstruction sites, while on the site next to the camp Jabuka it formed the\nentire mountain of land and gravel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It also shows that CRBC discharges waste water\ndirectly into the stream and continues thus untreated into the Tara River.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Because of this, MANS filed a criminal complaint\nwith the Prosecutor’s Office against the competent authorities, and with the\ngroup of NGOs, asked the European Commission for help.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It is obvious that the Prime Minister Du\u0161ko\nMarkovi\u0107 and the Minister of Sustainable Development Pavle Radulovi\u0107 were\nunable to convince European MPs to “believe their words, not their own\neyes” and that Tara, after building a section of the highway that will cost\ncitizens more than a billion Euros, will be “as it was”. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
By ignoring this problem and not understanding\nthe role of civil society, Markovi\u0107 and Radulovi\u0107 bring disgrace to Montenegro\nand it is more than sad that foreigners must warn us to protect what is ours.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We believe that it is high time for the\nGovernment of Montenegro to publish all relevant documentation on the highway\nin order to know its precise route and potential impact on protected areas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We also expect that the EU institutions will\ncontinue to closely monitor the Government’s behavior when it comes to the\nproject of the highway, and insist on the legality and transparency of the\nentire process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Dejan Milovac,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Director of the MANS Investigative Centre <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
MANS is pleased that the EP recognized the importance of monitoring the situation at the construction site of the Bar-Boljare highway, sections from Podgorica to Kola\u0161in, especially after the Resolution on the progress of Montenegro pointed to the need for timely and accurate information on the impact of the construction of the highway on the<\/p>\n