An agreement has been reached with police, there will be no gatherings while the negotiations are ongoing
We have reached an agreement with the Director of the Police Directorate Lazar Šćepanović to withdraw police forces from Botun and to reopen the road leading toward the city. It was also agreed that, at the initiative of the Parliament of Montenegro and its President Andrija Mandić, new negotiations would be launched involving representatives of the relevant ministries, the Capital City, the Municipality of Zeta, and the residents of Botun - a representative of the villagers, Duško Stijepović, told the Adria Portal last night after a meeting with the head of the police.
While these negotiations are ongoing, Stijepović said, it was agreed that all roads in Zeta would be unblocked.
- And there will be no public gatherings while the negotiations last - he told the Adria Portal.
This means, he explained, that the protest announced for today in Botun has been cancelled.
- Given that the initiative has come from a high level - the Speaker of Parliament - we hope to find common ground and resolve the issue to the satisfaction of all sides - Stijepović said, adding that he expects the head of Parliament to contribute, within his authority, to resolving the problem in the best possible way.
Citizens, determined not to allow the start of construction of the wastewater collector in Botun, had scheduled a new protest for today at 11 a.m., when the arrival of full machinery in the Zeta village had been planned.
A large number of local residents, led by the presidents of the Democratic People’s Party and the Municipality of Zeta, Milan Knežević and Mihailo Asanović, ended a several-hour blockade of roads through Zeta yesterday around 4 p.m.
They also gathered yesterday in front of Golubovci Airport, where they planned to speak with Prime Minister Milojko Spajić. However, that meeting did not take place.
In addition to being angered by the Capital City’s intention to allow Turkish investors to build the collector in Botun, residents are outraged by the operation carried out on December 30, in which several hundred fully equipped police officers took part.
Despite arrests and the fact that the investor has taken possession of the land where the collector is planned, residents remain determined not to allow the construction to proceed.