Citizens Demand from Municipal Authorities to Stop Claiming Ownership of the Vijecnica Building

03 November 2008

The Citizens of Sarajevo (Gradjani Sarajeva) informal group and the Protest.ba Initiative called on the members of Sarajevo City Council, the City Administration and the MPs in the Cantonal Assembly to stop claiming sole ownership over the Vijećnica Building, adding that no decision on the future use of the Vijećnica is possible without prior consultation with the citizens.

- Authorities make decisions that touch on all citizens on daily basis, without any attempt to consult the public opinion. One such decision refers to the future use of the Vijećnica. The single consultation listed was an internet poll, based on an ambiguously phrased question, while public opinion presented in the media was totally ignored - say the two organizations.

Having in mind that an internet poll was used as a key argument by the City Hall, the Citizens of Sarajevo and Protest.ba remind the city administration that they, too, have submitted a petition with 10,000 signatures demanding resignation from Mayor Semiha Borovac, which was ignored completely.

The two initiatives believe that, as citizens of Sarajevo, they are entitled to give their opinion on the future of the Vijećnica. They don`t agree with the decision that it should become yet another facility to house a number of current and future politicians.

Citizens of Sarajevo and Protest.ba demand an urgent public debate on this topic, so that the public can present its views in debates, through the media, opinion polls. From the authorities, on all levels of government, they demand to secure from their 2009 Budgets at least one half of the necessary 19 million KM (app. 9.5 million EUR) to complete the reconstruction works on the Vijećnica, and to stop constantly relying on foreign assistance.