Attack on the president of the Kruščica local community is an attack on all activists as well as an attack on the legal and constitutional order of BiH!

Tahira Tibold

The Coalition for the Protection of Rivers of Bosnia and Herzegovina strongly condemns the stoning of the house of Tahira Tibold, president of the Kruščica Local Community and one of the Brave Women of Kruščica, which took place by unknown perpetrators on Wednesday morning, November 25th.

“It is a cowardly attack by people who do not know how to deal with a woman who is not affected by blackmail, bribery or threats. Since she became president of the local community, there has been continuous pressure on her and her family. Hate speech and heinous lies were written on social networks, live threats were subtly made, and now they have switched to physical assault. We must not tolerate violence, this is not just an attack on a woman, a fellow citizen, but also on the legal and constitutional order of BiH, given that Ms. Tibold represents all residents of the Kruščica local community who elected her and gave her legitimacy,” said the Coalition for River Protection.

The attack came after the FBiH government announced it was preparing several regulation amendments that would prevent the negative impact of small hydropower plants to the environment, and after confirming that there would be no subsidy for the construction of these plants after this year.

”This is not the first attack on people who are activists in Kruščica. So far, the police have been silent, but we believe that they are in the service of citizens and will find the perpetrator or perpetrators of this unfortunate attack! We want their names to be revealed and published. I regret the breakdown of interpersonal relations in Kruščica, but small hydroelectric power plants will not be built here for sure!”, said Maida Bilal, president of the Association of Citizens Ecological Society “Bistro” from Kruščica and one of the Brave Women of Kruščica.