The SDP BiH MPs’ Club in the House of Representatives of the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina announced that the Chairman of the Club, Saša Magazinović, asked Milorad Dodik three questions regarding the problem of nuclear waste disposal on the border with Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Magazinović stated that Dodik, while he was a member of the Presidency of BiH, had the political power and mechanisms to influence the resolution of this problem, but, as he claims, he did not use them. In this context, he asked the following questions:
“When you, as a member of the Presidency of BiH, asked the National Assembly of the Republika Srpska to declare the construction of the Pelješac Bridge a vital interest, why did you not condition this by relocating the nuclear waste disposal site to the border with Bosnia and Herzegovina, in order to protect citizens living along the border with Croatia?”
“How much public money have you invested in lobbying for the lifting of your own sanctions, and how much in lobbying for the relocation of nuclear waste disposal sites and the protection of the interests of the citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina, including those of which, as you state, you were until recently the president?”
“When you welcomed Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenković in Banja Luka, just a few days before the Croatian Parliament adopted the Law on the Construction of the Radioactive Waste Management Center, did you discuss this topic and, if not, why not? Magazinović recalled Dodik’s earlier statement that this issue would “be brought up at every next meeting” and that without him “it would not be possible to further develop relations”.
Green Club Activities and International Communication
Unlike Dodik, who, as stated in the statement, has had significant political power for years, but has not used it to protect the interests of citizens living along the border with Croatia, Magazinović emphasizes that he has continuously worked together with his colleagues from the Green Club.
According to the SDP, Magazinović insisted that this issue be discussed at joint sessions of the Council of Ministers of BiH and the Government of the Republic of Croatia, and he communicated about the problem of nuclear waste disposal with the President of the European Commission, members of the European Parliament, the Presidency of BiH, members of the Health Committee of the Slovenian Parliament, as well as with representatives of vulnerable local communities in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia.
The Green Club, as stated, organized a number of gatherings with international participation, as well as a series of meetings in the country and abroad dedicated to this topic.
Call for urgent action by BiH institutions
Magazinović called on all relevant actors in Bosnia and Herzegovina to intensify their activities on the legal and political level without delay, especially at international addresses, with the aim of stopping the project to build a nuclear waste disposal site on the border with Bosnia and Herzegovina.
He also emphasized the need to use all available mechanisms to enable Bosnian and Herzegovinian experts to monitor and actively participate in the development of all studies and documents prepared by the Croatian side.
