VERY IMPORTANT – Please Act !

Please view the following link for more pictures:

http://www.stara-planina.net/pictures.html

Some of the political elite in Serbia wish to turn a Serbian environmental region of outstanding natural beauty into a Ski Centre. 

Please watch the excellent video below to obtain more information:

Take special note of the ‘conflict of interests’ detailed at 4 minutes 20 seconds into the video.

http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=bqESCXihr0Q

Then, Please Act !

A sample letter which can be copied and mailed, or changed to your own personal letter is given at the end of this post.

People can send their letter and / or comments to the Serbian Minister of the Environment – Mr.Oliver Dulic

E mail:  info@ekoserb.sr.gov.yu

Mr. Dulic is a member of Democracy Party of Serbian President, Mr. Boris Tadic.

From information which has been provided to SAV, a group of environmental volunteers met with the Minister of the Environment, Mr. Dulic, and it appears that allegedly they were told to bring a criminal charge against the government !

Knowing that this will cost money and that the government may possibly have just slightly more influence in the result where it is needed than the campaigners, the environmental campaigners wishing to save Stara Planina are now calling on everybody to help them in their campaign to stopping the ski centre being constructed.

There is a Serbian web site dedicated to saving Stara Planina;

http://www.staraplanina.rs/

and we have also been informed that allegedly the Serbian government has tried many times to remove or destroy this web site and all the information on it.  Democracy ?

An English translation of the web site can also be found at:

http://translate.google.com/translate?client=tmpg&hl=en&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.staraplanina.rs%2F&langpair=sr|en

and English translation gallery pictures and addition news can be found at:

http://translate.google.com/translate?client=tmpg&hl=en&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.staraplanina.rs%2F&langpair=sr|en

Also, it is said that one Professor,  Lidija Amidzic, who objected to what was being proposed by the government to turn the area into a Ski centre, was removed from her position as a Director at the Institute for the protection of nature – Zavod za zastitu prirode.  The institute is a state organisation which would normally be consulted with by the Ministry for the Environment regarding any proposal, such as the ski centre construction. 

But in her position as Director of the Institute being consulted by the government, Professor Lidija Amidzic did not agree with the construction of the ski and tourist centre.  Mr. Mladjan Dinkic of the G17 political party was not pleased with her views on the proposed plans, and allegedly he informed Professor Amidzic that she would as soon as possible be removed from her from her position as Director of the Institute.

This removal of position as a Director was later undertaken by the government without any further explaination / justification. 

Professor Lidija Amidzic is no longer able to make decisions relating to the environment; she currently still has a job at the Institute, but not anything as influential as the Director that she was.  The Institute now has a Director in place who agrees with the building of a tourist and sky centre at Stara Planina; just as the government would like !

It would appear that the government have the power and influence to be able to remove anyone who opposes their environmental views; the example being Professor Amidzic being removed as Director of the Institute for voicing her opposition to the ski centre !; even when as a Director of the Institute for the protection of nature she should have been free to disagree with environmentally damaging construction and planning proposals.

Professor Lidija Amidzic is an environmental person who wishes to save Stara Planina as the beautiful area that it already is; free from the huge construction work which will happen there.  She has spoken out (as Institute Director) against the ski centre plans to the government and has now been removed from her position.

A Petition for saving Stara Planina, which is written in English, can be found via the following link:

http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/save-staraplanina-petition

 PLEASE SIGN THE PETITION, Thank You.

Please give your support to our friends and campaigners at http://www.staraplanina.rs/

for the environment and all of its wondeful flora and fauna inhabitants.

***SAMPLE LETTER***SAMPLE LETTER***SAMPLE LETTER

Note – this is written for EU citizens.  Non EU citizens should change the necessary sections to their own political situation.  Thank You

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 Please mail the sample letter to Mr. Dulic, copy to President Tadic and also to all the political parties given in the block listing below.

12 e mail addresses total.

To: Mr.Oliver Dulic – Serbian Minister of the Environment.

E mail:  info@ekoserb.sr.gov.yu

Copy  – President of Serbia  –  Mr.Boris Tadic

E mail:  nkrstic@predsednik.srbija.yu

Addresses of  members of Serbian Parliament:

Sir;

I am writing to express my concerns that the beautiful parkland area of Southeastrn Serbia known as Stara Planina, may be turned into a massive Ski Centre simply because certain members of the existing Serbian government wish it to be !

Construction of the proposed ski centre will destoy the park as a result, and will include damage or detruction of the huge range of preserved landscapes and biodiversity for which the region is known.

Under the protection of heritage, Article 89, I understand that the citizens of Serbia shall be obliged to protect natural rarities and scientific, cultural and historical heritage, as well as goods of public interest in accordance with the law.

The government of the Republic of Serbia, as well as local government, have it their responsibility to protect the heritage of the Serbian Republic.  Article 74 states that everyone shall have the right to a healthy environment and the right to timely and full information about the condition of the environment.

It saddens and annoys me very much to understand that the wishes of a few Serbian politicians are trying to overrule the legal rights of the citizens of Serbia.  Could it be that these supportive politicians have personal business or financial interests in the proposals for development of Stara Planina ? – a ‘conflict of interests’ as defined in Article 6 of Serbian legislation ?

This situation annoys me enough that I feel I must present this information to my Members of the European Parliament (MEP).  Serbia wishes to gain accession (membership) of the EU very soon, but I would like to remind you sir that in order to gain EU membership, and under the rules of the 1993 EU ‘Copenhagen Agreement’, EU membership criteria requires that a candidate state applying for membership must have achieved:

stability of institutions guaranteeing democracy, the rule of law, human rights and respect for and protection of minorities;

I do not consider that the objectives of the Serbian government with regard Stara Planina can be described as either ‘Democratic’ or as enforcing the Serbian Republic ‘rule of law’.

Because of this and the existing Serbian governments views on the changes at Stara Planina, I am left with no choice but to question whether Serbia is currently achieving the necessary criteria for EU membership; and I will be asking my MEP(s) this question.

Please do not change Stara Planina in any way; keep it as it is, a place of outstanding natural beauty for all of the citizens of serbia, not simply for the wishes of a few politicians !

Yours

Name:

Nationality:

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