Victory against big hydro in Bosnia and Herzegovina

Vrbas canyon (c) ETNAR

After a ten-year wait, citizens in Bosnia and Herzegovina are celebrating after plans for two large hydro power plants in the north of the country were quietly cancelled – allowing the Vrbas River and its nature to flow untrammeled.

There has been mass public opposition and protests against the project since the government of the Republika Srpska (RS) administrative entity signed concession agreements with the company HES Vrbas for the plants in 2004.

Friends of the Earth Bosnia & Herzegovina /Center for Environment first heard about plans for two large hydro dams a short distance upstream of the regional capital city of Banja Luka in October 2004, after they appeared on the agenda of the RS government.

Yet the plans were out of date, dating from the 1990s, with no impact assessment on the local environment, resources, or tourism industry – despite being situated in a planned protected area.

A Coalition for Vrbas River Protection quickly sprang up comprising around 30 local NGOs, and they rallied more than 5,500 people to sign a petition against the hydro plans, but their words fell on deaf ears.

Read more on the website of Friends of Earth Europe

Decision of the Athens Court against HRADF

Thessaloniki, 15 july 2014.

Catapult against HRADF (Hellenic Republic Asset Development Fund) is the decision of the Athens Court on the injunction application asked by "Citizens Union for the Water", a secondary level Union of Thessaloniki Water Cooperatives, set up by the Initiative K136, to claim the 51% stake in EYATh in the name of the citizens of Thessaloniki.

Three times we asked - via the lawful route - information on the process and criteria by which the HRADF excluded the "Citizens Union for the Water" from the second phase of the tender for the privatization of 51% of EYATh. HRADF flatly refused to give any information or data, arguing that it is "private company" and is not required to give anything. The third time, the Union appealed to the Court of Athens for injunctive relief.

We currently publish this decision by which the Court of Athens requires HRADF give to the Citizens Union for the Water all the requested data, rejecting the complaints on the company's "private law".

Read more...

CoS “listened” to the people: The first big win for water belongs to all of us

Since the beginning of the disclosure of the government’s intention to privatize water services, throughout the changes in leadership in EYDAP and TAIPED until a few days ago, a struggle with the use of law and logic was given against the enclosure and grabbing of the collective good of water. After almost three years, the citizens who signed the European Citizens ‘Initiative, these who were informed and passed this information to others, all those who formed a proper and documented opinion about the risks of privatization through our arthrography, argumentation and campaign, the citizens’ movements in Thessaloniki and the county, we can all, without exceptions, feel proud of the first major victory which was won by the citizens united.

Watching closely during all this time the legal proceedings of the case of the residents and associations recourse to the Council of State and thinking how could we help in this effort, we never stopped all this time to contribute voluntarily, yet with professionalism, in this “unequal” race of informing people and creating alliances in Greece and abroad, with the help of alternative media, newspapers, radio and media abroad. This campaign in favor of rationality and documented reasoning, qualities that are both missing from the public dialogue, was successful in shaping a trend against privatization formed by the beliefs of the majority of the Greek people as expressed not only in polls but also by the overwhelming 98% “NO to EYATH privatization” of the referendum of Thessaloniki. We believe that this trend is reflected in the decision of the State Council at its highest level, which is its plenary session.

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Initiative K136 press release

2 July 2014,

Regarding the HRADF (Hellenic Republic Asset Development Fund) communication at the recent General Assembly of EYATh Shareholders, stating inter alia that "respects the reactions of the local community" Initiative K136 has to observe the following:

-- The HRADF at the recent meeting with representatives of the referendum organizers, said that does nothing by itself, but that the government said. So the question is what the government will do after the referendum, which has not yet clarified its stance. Hence, the issue of privatization has not ended, instead remains open.

-- The HRADF sure to leak scenarios for continuity, usually a "well informed sources" saying that "the Fund then has three options:

  1. Divest a minority shareholding. To sell that as much as 24% to a "strategic investor" transferring the management too. In this case, the strategic investor will undertake the management of the company but the Greek government will retain control.
  2. Disposal of shares (again up to 24%) through the stock exchange and the government retaining the management.
  3. Return the entire amount to the State by cancelling not only the sale plan, but also the investor entry.

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The referendum on the water of Thessaloniki

Brief History

The referendum for the privatization or not of EYATh (Thessaloniki water and sewerage company) held in Thessaloniki on 18 May 2014, is a golden page in the history of the city.

The idea was initiated by the EYATh Workers Association in 2011, visited the municipalities of the city, discussed the proposal and asked to take decisions against the privatization of EYATh and in favor of a referendum.

In March 2013 the EYATh Association of Workers invited municipalities, organizations and citizens of Thessaloniki, for the establishment of a great alliance against the privatization of EYATh. Municipalities of the Thessaloniki area, Initiative 136 (K 136), the Citizens' Union for Water (second-level union of water cooperatives) and the 12 non-profit water cooperatives were co-founding members of the coordinating body.

The coordinating organizations and citizens during the 2013 restored the proposal of the Workers Association since 2011, for a referendum on the water. The decision was finally at a meeting on February 17, 2014.

Read more...