Activists fighting for healthy environment and basic human rights throughout Bosnia and Herzegovina are increasingly faced with threats, pressures, attacks and labeling. All of this comes from investors, their employees, institutions, media and many more. From Center for Environment on the occasion of International Human Rights Day, which is celebrated on December 10 comes the warning about the severity of these pressures which through instructed campaigns damage the reputation of activists.
As evidence of this comes the latest news from Mostar, where the Municipal Court issued a decision imposing a sentence on all activists who continue to fight against illegal landfill in Uborak and imposing a fine of 500 BAM. The fine will not be executed if the activists in the next one year make no new offenses.
Intimidation with fines is one of the many types of pressure to prevent environmental activists from action. As shown in the regional research by Center for the Environment, done in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, North Macedonia, Montenegro and Albania, pressures are mostly reflected in attacks, threats and media pressure. According to Ena Bavčić, a human rights defender who conducted the research published in the publication “Safety of environmental defenders”, it is important to note that some environmental defenders from Bosnia and Herzegovina reported death threats, physical violence and attacks on their property.
“Aim of the research was to map those attacks, as well as the answers to them. Also the goal was to point out the fact that the pressures faced by environmental activists are equal to the pressures on human rights defenders. The research is part of the efforts of the Center for Environment to provide support and promote the status of environmental activists through campaigns and trainings, “said Ena Bavčić.
The biggest problems were detected for the right to free access to information, the right to public assembly, more precisely spontaneous gatherings, and access to public consultations, as well as bureaucratization of the work of relevant institutions. In addition, research has highlighted the problem of media campaigns against environmental defenders being used to spread inaccurate or unverified information. State responses in such cases are often inadequate, which additionaly is discouraging activists. When there is a state response, it is mprovoked by media pressure and campaigns that demand protection of environmental activists. This proves that public speaking about the pressures that environmental defenders experience is the greatest tool for improving the status of activists in our societies.
Story about the threats and pressures faced by environmental activists across the region is shown in the film “Stay Safe and Speak”, which will be broadcasted on Tuesday, December 14th at 5:05 pm on the Al Jazeera Balkans channel.