The Homeland Movement president is calling for an urgent convening of the ruling coalition and the declaration of an ecological disaster due to 37,000 tons of hazardous waste in Gospić.
The president of the Homeland Movement (DP), Ivan Penava, on Monday demanded an urgent convening of the ruling coalition and the immediate remediation of the area in Lika polluted by illegal waste disposal. The trigger was the findings of the USKOK expert analysis, which confirmed that the site in Gospić contains approximately 37,000 tons of hazardous, ecotoxic material.
"We will demand an urgent meeting of the ruling coalition to synchronize activities and make decisions on how to proceed, and secondly, a clear call to action for the urgent remediation of the contaminated terrain, because the circumstances simply demand it," Penava stated.
Penava emphasized that he partly understands the reactions of the opposition, but the situation on the ground leaves no room for politicking. "There is no place for political populism here, because citizens expect action. The people of Lika, and then of Croatia, expect to see excavators, trucks, and urgent site remediation," he said.
The Homeland Movement's stance is clear: an extraordinary situation requires extraordinary measures. "These are the positions of the Homeland Movement; this is what an extraordinary emergency like this demands, and everything else can wait," added the DP leader.
To illustrate the urgency of the response, Penava posed a hypothetical question. "Imagine a hypothetical situation where we have an oil tanker accident in the Adriatic. Would we wait, deliberate for six months or a year, depend on some procurement processes, and would anyone think of postponing a decision while the oil slick spreads?" he asked, immediately offering the answer.
"Clearly not. If we wouldn't do that in the case of the Adriatic, then we certainly cannot do it in the case of Lika, or any other part of Croatia," he concluded.
The Homeland Movement proposes that the government declare the entire event an ecological disaster, which is a significantly stricter qualification than an incident. This would allow entering a direct negotiation procedure without a public tender, thereby speeding up the remediation.
"Of course, all in accordance with the law, and all after USKOK received the findings from the Faculty of Geotechnical Engineering in Zagreb and after the Chief State Attorney Ivan Turudić said that the findings produce a report that is not good for the environment," Penava stated, adding that he has not yet discussed the case with Prime Minister Andrej Plenković.
According to the expert analysis results published by USKOK, significant quantities of waste of various compositions and properties were found at the illegal landfill in Gospić. Among it is material classified as hazardous, i.e., ecotoxic. This includes residues from the processing of electronic and medical waste, plastics, and processed waste fractions.
In total, the site contains about 37,000 tons of waste that is so mixed with soil that its separation is no longer possible.
Penava announced that after the hazardous landfill is urgently removed from the Gospić area, he will insist on proceeding in two directions. The first is establishing criminal responsibility for all those in the chain responsible for the situation. The second is institutionally closing the gaps in the system that allowed such an environmental problem to occur.
"What we definitely know at this moment is that we have a hazardous waste landfill that needs to be removed from the Gospić area as soon as possible, and then proceed in two directions: criminal responsibility, so let all those who must answer in the chain, and institutional closure of gaps in the system, because it is obvious that something was not right here," concluded the president of the Homeland Movement.
