The informal student group “Hocel’ ta promjena” will hold a protest on Wednesday, April 9th, in front of the Government of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (FBiH) from 11:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
They point out that the FBiH Government has still not responded to their demands regarding last year’s catastrophic floods.
As they stated, the FBiH Government is responsible for the situation in Donja Jablanica, Konjic, Fojnica, as well as other areas affected by the landslides and floods in October.
“Not only has the FBiH Government failed to respond to our demands, but it has also ignored the requests and pleas of residents from these areas. This is especially evident in Donja Jablanica, where locals confirmed to us that no one from the FBiH Government visited them – except after part of the railway was repaired, just to take photos. That was it. The reason we are protesting is the catastrophic situation residents of Donja Jablanica, as well as the surroundings of Fojnica and Konjic, have been placed in. The situation in Donja Jablanica is devastating,” they stated.
They emphasize that five months have passed since the disaster hit these areas, and it is particularly concerning that residents still do not have newly built homes and that the risk of further landslides and floods remains.
“Not only have homes not been built, but the conditions in the improvised container settlement in Donja Jablanica are disgraceful. During our visit, we found unlivable conditions, such as rundown beds, and the space itself is not adequately equipped for a dignified life. The authorities have not visited these people. We remind the public that we, the informal student group “Hocel’ ta promjena” along with all our colleagues from faculties in Sarajevo and other universities in BiH, demand action from the authorities so that the residents of these areas can finally live as they deserve,” the group stated.
In October 2024, 29 people, including two unborn babies, lost their lives in the floods that struck the areas around Jablanica, Konjic, and Fojnica.
Five months have passed, and still, no one has been held accountable for the deaths of 29 fellow citizens. No investigation has been launched – only preliminary inquiries, which have already exceeded the legal time limit.
“The Herzegovina-Neretva Canton (HNC) Prosecutor’s Office announced that the expert report on the quarry in Jablanica would be submitted by the end of February this year. That did not happen. We demand to know why and insist that the public be informed about the investigation in this case. No one has been held accountable for the existence of the quarry that killed 19 people in Donja Jablanica. No one has been held accountable for the absence of a forestry law in HNC and the FBiH – illegal logging has been ongoing for years, contributing to the landslides in the flooded areas. No one has been held accountable for construction and obstructions on torrent rivers,” they stated.
These are the students’ demands: The immediate launch of investigations and the immediate filing of indictments against responsible individuals; Immediate public disclosure of all actions taken by the relevant services, authorities, and institutions regarding the deaths of 29 fellow citizens; Criminal prosecution of all those responsible for the operation of the illegal quarry that caused the deaths of 19 people in Donja Jablanica; Criminal prosecution of those within the relevant authorities, services, and institutions who failed to act preventively and prevent the deaths of 29 people in the October 2024 floods; A review of all quarries and other environmentally hazardous projects that pose a future threat to human lives across BiH; The alignment of all spatial plans with landslide and torrent river maps across BiH to prevent another Jablanica, Konjic, or Fojnica; The publication of data on collected aid and a public disclosure of the spending of all funds, both from the FBiH budget and donations received for all flooded areas in October 2024; Public disclosure of plans and the timeline for the rehabilitation of the flooded areas.
They noted that banners containing messages inciting or encouraging armed conflict or violence, as well as those promoting national, racial, religious, or other hatred, will be removed, along with the individuals who bring them, Klix.ba writes.
