The Možemo coordinator called on the Ministry of Environment to immediately remediate the illegal hazardous waste dump and demanded political accountability from the minister and the State Inspectorate.
Sandra Benčić, coordinator of the Možemo party, issued a sharp call on Saturday from the site of an illegal hazardous waste dump in Gospić for the Ministry of Environment and Green Transition to begin remediation without delay. She described the location as the scene of the biggest ecocide in recent decades and warned that the financial consequences for all citizens would be long-lasting.
"This is a place where the Croatian state allowed its own capitulation. And a capitulation in favor of profit that remained in private pockets. The damage remains, not only for the citizens of Gospić-and it is immeasurable damage-but also financial damage for all citizens of the Republic of Croatia, who will have to pay for the remediation," Benčić stated.
Benčić claimed that institutions knew about the illegal waste dumping for at least a year and a half but did nothing. "For at least a year and a half, the ministry has known that waste was being illegally dumped here and that it is possible that hazardous waste exists whose chemicals could seep into groundwater," she said.
She added that this prolonged inaction has now created an additional problem because remediation cannot be initiated through an expedited procedure. "Now they say we have to wait because we have to go through public procurement. We wouldn't have to go through public procurement if they had started remediation immediately upon learning about it, due to the urgency. But because they've been 'sitting' on this information for a year and a half without doing anything, we won't be able to use the exception to European rules that allows us to skip public procurement in urgent cases," she emphasized.
The warning about groundwater contamination is particularly alarming. "Yesterday and the day before, we heard terrifying data that, unfortunately, hazardous chemicals have leaked into the groundwater and were found downstream. These are so-called forever chemicals. Fortunately, the tap water for Gospić residents is still of good quality," Benčić pointed out.
The Možemo coordinator demanded concrete political consequences for those responsible. "We also demand that the minister, as well as everyone else in the chain, including the State Inspectorate, bear political responsibility. This is a consequence of corruption; this is a consequence of the HDZ's model of governing Croatia. The damage that has occurred here at this site is damage that generations will pay for," she said.
"And that's why," she added, "we must tell them-stop, and that's why we must tell them-goodbye," Benčić concluded.
