Following announcements from Croatia that it plans to build a migrant reception centre at the site of the former Željava military airbase, located on the border between the two countries, the Prime Minister of Una-Sana Canton (USK), Mustafa Ružnić, told Klix.ba that he is awaiting responses from relevant institutions.
According to Ružnić, inquiries were sent immediately after the first information about the planned construction became public, addressing all relevant authorities in both the Republic of Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina.
“I contacted representatives from Ličko Petrovo Selo. They told me that, as far as they are concerned, they will organise public protests and will not allow this when it comes to Željava. I sent them a letter of support on behalf of Una-Sana Canton. I also addressed the Ministry of the Interior of the Republic of Croatia regarding the Željava location, and I called on our Ministry of Security and Ministry of Foreign Affairs to stand in protection of the USK,” Ružnić told Klix.ba.
He noted that a similar approach had already been seen during the construction of the Lipa migrant centre near Bihać, when the Croatian side opposed the facility being built at the Bugar site, which is located directly along the border.
“Especially now, when it comes to Željava, we cannot allow this from our side. We are acting in this way because past experience has shown that when higher levels of government are involved, reactions tend to come slowly. That is why I have already sent official letters last week and this week – to our ministries, to Croatian authorities, and to neighbouring municipalities and counties. Now we are waiting for responses and reactions to see what will happen,” Ružnić added.
He stressed that a situation similar to the Trgovska Gora case, involving the planned radioactive waste storage site, must not be repeated, referring to events in 2020 when, he said, the Croatian side unilaterally began clearing forest on Mount Plješevica in the Željava border zone.
“In the morning, a patrol reported it to the Police Commissioner, who then called me. We saw that forest was being cut on the Croatian side. We sent several official notes over the course of a few days and informed our Ministry of Foreign Affairs, at the time headed by Minister Bisera Turković. She responded only on the 14th or 15th day, saying she would take certain measures, but by then the work had already been completed,” Ružnić said.
According to him, the current security situation in the context of migration is stable, with just over 300 migrants currently accommodated at the Lipa camp.
