UNAUTHORISED RUBBISH DUMP IN MOSTAR THREAT TO ENVIRONMENT

MOSTAR, Aug 28 (Hina) - Croatian Christian Democrats, a recently founded party in Mostar, southern Bosnia-Herzegovina, on Saturday strongly criticised the ruling Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) of Bosnia-Herzegovina (HDZ BiH) for failing to solve the problem of a waste disposal site in Rudnik, a settlement in the western part of Mostar. The party accused the HDZ of exposing the town to the threat of an environmental disaster. The head of the regional Office of the High Representative (OHR) in Mostar, Richard Ellerkmann, also warned that the rubbish dump in Rudnik was a threat to environment and health and called on Mostar authorities to solve the problem. Ellerkmann recalled that several years ago the European Union had financed the first ecological waste disposal site in Bosnia- Herzegovina, the one in Mostar's neighbourhood of Vrapcici, which was to be used by the whole town. Despite the then agreement on the use of the Vrapcici waste disposal site by both Mostar Croats and Muslims, majority Croat municipalities are still disposing of rubbish at Rudnik, a neighbourhood on the western bank of the Neretva River, whereas majority Muslim municipalities are transporting waste to Vrapcici. (hina) rml