Pismo gradonačelnicima balkanskih gradova

Banjalučani ne odustaju od protestnih šetnji i 24 dana nakon početka protesta. Bez obzira na visoke temperature, šetači se svaki dan okupljaju kraj starog hrasta nakon čega slijedi mirna šetnja kroz grad.

Pored toga što su juče dijelili letke na kojima se ukratko objašnjava poenta šetnje, inicijativa građana “Park je naš” uputila je pismo gradonačelnicima balkanskih gradova koji su se danas trebali okupiti u Banjaluci.

Međutim, kako kažu iz Gradske uprave, konferencija je odgođena za septembar zbog nemogućnosti dolaska većine članica gradova, u čijim zemljama su, kako navode, ovih dana održani izbori.

Pismo je na engleskom jeziku, a možete ga ovdje pročitati.

Dear Mayor,

We, the citizens of Banja Luka and members of civil society organizations, are honoured with your participation at International Meeting of Friendship and Cooperation between major Balkan Cities in Banja Luka.

We would like to draw your attention to one important issue, highly related to the concept of sustainable development of urban areas. Banja Luka has been wellknown for its alleys and green areas, and for a long time Banja Luka has held atitle of „city of verdure“.

However, in the past decade city administration converted most of its green areas into buildings or parking lots. For more than 20 days, hundreds of citizens of Banja Luka have been peacefully protesting against destruction of the last larger green area in the city centre.

More than 6.000 citizens supported this civic initiative by signing the petition and 12 distinguished civil society organizations fully supported the initiative.

Citizens and CSOs submitted official requests to the mayor of Banja Luka for all documents related to plans for destruction of this green area, as well as there quest for meeting with the mayor. Unfortunately, the mayor did not ensure disclosure of documentation nor did he answer our request for the meeting.

We believe that you support transparent and good governance, but also understand the importance of participatory planning in development of urban areas.

Therefore, we ask you to address this issue at the panel „Role of Mayors inTransformation of Cities in the Balkans“ and ask the mayor of Banja Luka why thecity administration is not willing to disclose relevant documents that should bepublic or agree to an open dialogue with CSOs.

We believe you will enjoy your stay in Banja Luka, and we hope you will promote transparency and good governance at the 13th Meeting of Balkan Cities Network.

If you are interested to know more about this issue, we are at your disposal for further information and are willing to meet with you at any convenient time or place.

Sincerely,

more than 6000 signatories of the petition and Civil Society Organizations: Agency for Development and Cooperation CEREBRA, PERPETUUM MOBILE’ Center for youth and community development, Center for Environment, Center for Civic Initiatives, Helsinki Citizens’ Assembly Banja Luka, Youth Comunication Centre, Transparency International BiH, Agricultural Information Center, Association “Oštra nula”, Association “Tender”, Centre for informative decontamination, UNSA Geto.