1. Military training ground “Eugen Kvaternik” near Slunj is placed on an unacceptable location for the reason of being in the middle of karts area and meeting of the rivers Mreznica, Slunjcica and Korana, which provide water to the settlements between “Plitvice Lakes” National Park and Karlovac. Karlovac County has the biggest number of cancer patients and malformed children in the Republic of Croatia. Near the training ground, there is a famous natural phenomenon: National Park Plitvice Lakes, whose eco-system is seriously endangered by the detonations and other actions conducted at the training ground, only 16 km away. All these threats are going to rise as the Croatian Army and NATO forces are planning to increase their activities after accepting the Memorandum between Croatian state and NATO-US Force in Europe (October 2005). Therefore, it is of great concern to the inhabitants of the region if the military actions at the source of the vast water potential influences the high rate of cancer as well as the impact of the karts (Plitvice) environment. BUT:
all the military facilities and actions in Croatia hidden from the civil institutions or the general public. No civil inspection is possible regarding the military facilities, they only respond to the internal inspections of the Croatian Army, and according to the Memorandum, NATO armies are let off of even such.
The Republic of Croatia has no legal regulation which would control the activities on the military training ground. If such exist, one has no input to them – they are beyond the reach of public. There is no public legislation which would define measures for the environmental protection or planning in the case of military installations or activities. They are subjected to only their own internal inspections. At the training ground, armies can use and fire just any technical appliance and weapon – there are no legal constraints. Furthermore, Croatia has no laws that define the activities of army in peacetime (usage of weapons, environment impact, urban planning of the military facilities, etc.), at least not any legal regulations with public access.
Many important issues are simply beyond the rule of law: spatial and urban planning, location of military facilities from the civil settlements, environmental protection, financial compensation to local communities (due to the health impact and the lower value of real estate) or to the local governments at whose area of authority these training grounds are placed.
2. There for, we European Greens, call upon Croatian government:
to bring the laws and system of legal measures in accordance with the similar laws in the countries of EU that will enable civil supervision over military activities concerning environmental and health protection.
to ensure constant and better information systems for local communities (Aarhus convention) about military activities that could have an impact on the environment or human health.
to diminish the military activities on the karts and groundwater deposits as much as possible or to stop them all together.
- in order to have a better civil regulation of enviromental protection, public health and custody over facilities and activities, not only related to the “Eugen Kvaternik” training ground, but of the foreign and Croatian armies in the country in general.
