Milinović Raises Alarm: Terrorist Act of Ecocide in Lika

The Mayor of Gospić, Darko Milinović, published an open letter on Tuesday, August 11, 2026, in which he described the case of illegally dumped hazardous waste in Lika as a "terrorist act of ecocide." He demanded an immediate response from the state leadership and that remediation begin without delay.

"This is terrorism," Milinović said, calling on the State Attorney's Office of the Republic of Croatia (DORH) to treat the entire case as a terrorist act. He expects the government to take urgent action and begin removing the hazardous waste that threatens the health of residents. In his appearance on N1 television with journalist Katarina Plantak, he further elaborated on the scale of the problem. "We conduct weekly water quality checks, and the water in Gospić is safe to drink. The report states that new contamination depends on urgent remediation, which means it depends on the government and Andrej Plenković. I call on all of Croatia to stand together against this dragon, and its name is the terrorism of ecocide in Gospić," he said.

Plenković Calls Emergency Meeting

Milinović's letter came on the same day that Prime Minister Andrej Plenković convened an emergency meeting with leaders of the ruling coalition. The waste affair has grown into a serious environmental and political problem, with pressure on the government coming from both the opposition and the ruling majority. President Zoran Milanović also voiced criticism. According to previously released information, the case involves tens of thousands of tons of waste illegally dumped in Gospić, which, without remediation, could, according to expert findings, pose a continuous source of contamination.

The mayor specifically appealed to the ruling coalition to accept his proposal made a year and a half ago. "I also call on the ruling coalition to listen to me and accept what I said a year and a half ago, which is urgent remediation and that Andrej Plenković lead the commission tasked with its implementation," Milinović emphasized. In the open letter, he reiterated: "Accept this idea, which is urgent remediation and that Andrej Plenković lead the commission responsible for carrying it out."

Threat Beyond Lika

Milinović warns that the consequences of the pollution are not limited to Gospić and Lika-Senj County. According to him, Primorje-Gorski Kotar County and the wider region could also be at risk. "I call on all of Croatia to stand alongside Gospić and thus demonstrate a new kind of patriotism that is needed today just as much as in '91," he said. The Uskok (Anti-Corruption Office) earlier published expert findings indicating that large quantities of waste of various compositions, including hazardous and ecotoxic waste, were found at the industrial complex in Gospić, along with soil contamination and a potential impact on groundwater. The expert analysis was conducted as part of the investigation against the Šincek couple and others suspected of illegal waste handling.

In addition to the waste issue, Milinović also criticized the lithium processing plant project in Gospić in his letter. He claims to possess documentation that could shed light on the circumstances under which the relevant ministry concluded that no environmental impact study was needed for the facility, and he again requested a meeting with the state attorney.

Finally, he appealed to the DORH and other judicial bodies to consider whether the ecocide case can be legally classified as a terrorist act and to prosecute all those responsible. "I appeal to the DORH and judicial bodies to consider the possibility of declaring this ecocide a terrorist act and to prosecute all those responsible in that chain," he wrote in the letter. Milinović believes that further contamination can still be prevented through urgent remediation and calls on political actors to make the Gospić case a unifying issue.