The movement „Karton revolucija” was founded five years ago in Tuzla, determined to fight for dignity and against injustice, as well as for the right to water, air, and food. The founders of the movement, Adi Selman and Nedim Musić, say that it is currently the most visible activist movement in Bosnia and Herzegovina, bringing people together around the idea that laws must be applied equally to everyone and that public goods must not be privatized, usurped, or devastated.
Their activism began in 2020, when the campaign for local elections began, and Tuzla faced an urgent problem: the mammography machine was not functioning. After the elections, the problem was quickly forgotten, and everything continued „as usual,” so they decided to organize and fight to ensure that women in this city receive adequate healthcare.
They emphasize that it depends on all of us whether systemic changes will occur and whether, in the future, our children and we will have the right to live and survive in this region.
— We believe that the time is coming when the influence of our movement, as well as all the other people with whom we share a vision for the future of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the region, will continue to grow. We believe that citizens are becoming more aware of the situation they are in day by day. Until a few years ago, it was unimaginable that anyone would oppose foreign mining companies, domestic politicians, and tycoons who want to exploit our nature for their own profit. However, today, across the entire territory of BiH, we see resistance — resistance from ordinary people — and it is growing stronger every day. This is precisely an indicator that people are becoming aware of the threat to our right to water, air, and food, and to biological survival; therefore, public perception has changed significantly — said members of „Karton revolucija” for the Energy Portal Magazine.
In the past six months, they have implemented numerous campaigns, mostly aimed at preserving natural resources, and have significantly raised awareness and alerted the public, considering that the movement currently has more than 360,000 followers on social media and an annual reach exceeding 70 million.
— Some of the activities we have carried out recently include: successfully stopping the project of RDF waste incineration at the Tuzla Thermal Power Plant. We established oversight of logging within the Protected Landscape „Konjuh.” We initiated that the cities of Lukavac, Srebrenik, and Živinice adopt decisions opposing the opening of critical mineral raw material mines in their territories, for which they had initially given consent, and which were included in the Draft Spatial Plan of Tuzla Canton. Together with the citizens of Tuzla Canton, we successfully carried out a strong campaign opposing these projects within the Spatial Plan, they stated.
In focus:
- Europe Is Building the Future of Energy Through Digital Twins
- The Link Between Laundry and Ecology
- The H-Bridges Team and Laboratory as the Foundation of Development
In addition, they initiated the process of declaring the „Treskavica – Bistrica Canyon” area protected on the side of Republika Srpska and will soon launch the same initiative within the Federation. Together with citizens in Kupres, they initiated the annulment of the environmental permit. They halted the project to open a magnesium factory in Kupres, and they are currently continuing activities that, as they say, will lead to its final abandonment. They have taken the first steps toward protecting the Neretva Canyon, initiated legal proceedings and criminal complaints regarding illegal construction in the area of the Prokoško Lake Natural Monument, contributed to opposition against the opening of an antimonite mine in Fojnica, and have taken many other actions.
They emphasize that, as a movement, they are not opposed to economic development or to the use of natural resources for energy production.
— However, what is happening in BiH is a classic example of anarchy, or rather betrayal and destruction. We have become a mining colony that sells our natural resources and the health of our people to foreign companies. The best example of this is Vareš. Rivers are being dammed without any logic, and individual profit is the only thing that matters. Institutions are either incapable or unwilling to act in the interest of citizens. Wind parks, such as those in Tomislavgrad, are being built without appropriate legal regulations or completed studies, and are entirely funded by private investors who generate enormous profits. At the same time, our country is left with nothing but devastated and destroyed nature, they emphasize.
They add that, from all the negative examples that have occurred so far, we can draw lessons and, together, save the remaining parts of the country that have not yet been destroyed, for which there is still an opportunity to be preserved.
Prepared by Jasna Dragojević
The story was published in Energy portal Magazine DIGITALIZATION
