According to the Ministry of Defense, ammunition that will be used by the Armed Forces of Montenegro on the training ground for military exercise on Sinjajevina can’t contaminate that region. They explained it’s a conventional ammunition for mortars and ammunition for firing.
“According to our estimates, this type of ammunition can’t lead to contamination of Sinjajevina, having regard to the amount of ammunition we will be spending for the needs of the army. In Prage, near Nikšić, Ministry destroyed surpluses of ordnance, much larger quantities than we will use on Sinjajevina. After that we tested water, land an air and the analysis showed there was no impact on the environment”, Ministry said.
Numerous NGOs, citizens, ecologists and residents who have pastures in the area are revolted by the announcements on mortar shootings.
Ms Svetlana Golović, from “Save Sinjajevina” civil initiative, said that thesis about the necessity for training military ground is unacceptable, especially in allocation such as Sinjajevina.
“Armed Forces of Montenegro can do that on the training ground of some neighboring states. We are NATO member, we have many allies, therefore, we can expect them to make their training grounds available for us for several days in a year”, Ms Golović says.
Ministry of Defense points out that exercises were planned and announced at the end of last year.
“On September 5, 2019, the Government of Montenegro made a decision on the establishment of a Training and Shooting space in Sinjajevina. We remind you that after the formation of the Armed Forces of Montenegro, there was a need to form a space for training and shooting, and that this initiative was launched in 2013, which also provides an answer to many questions that have been raised these days and that point to the political side of the story, “they say in this Government department.
Ministry once again called on representatives of NGO sector and the media to come and attend the exercise on 22 October.
“As a responsible institution, we also started development of a zero state, in order to determine the real situation on that mountain. The development of the zero state, as well as the provision of programs for subsequent monitoring of environmental segments, requires an interdisciplinary approach, therefore all relevant institutions are involved in the project, especially the Center for eco-toxicological testing, which is responsible for monitoring air, land, noise and radiation. Part of the research has been completed, as well as other details related to the area. Also, all these data will be used in the process of Sinjajevina’s candidacy for the European ecological network Natura 2000. We note that we will repeat this research procedure next week, during and after the exercise, in order to have comparative data”, Ministry told Pobjeda.
“Save Sinjajevina” civil initiative thinks that nature park and military training ground cannot go hand in hand.
Training ground occupies 7.5 thousand hectares
This zone covers approximately 18 km of length in the longest part and 6 km of width in the widest part, in the territories of Šavnik, Mojkovac and Kolašin.
Representatives of NGOs, ecological activities and farmers have been gathering since Friday night on the mountain trying to prevent that area from turning into a military training zone.
Leader of URA, Mr Dritan Abazović pledged his support to protesters and so did Mr Zdravko Krivokapić.
The current Defense Minister, Mr Predrag Bošković, has denounced protests as political and reiterated that they will discuss everything on 22 October on Sinjajevina.
