President Milanović in Otočac: These are gloomy and insecure times, we have to stick together to protect our interests
“Conserve the Gacka River. You have to develop, you have to invest and you have to use what nature gives, but what is sustainable, and not be greedy. Patience is necessary too because the Gacka River is magnificent, and there are not many such rivers in Europe. Be careful with that. Those who come here and invest, thus extracting profit, must keep in mind that something like this takes a long time to be created and collapses very quickly if you are not careful what you are doing”, the President of the Republic Zoran Milanović stated at the formal session of the Town Council of Otočac on the occasion of Otočac Municipal Day and the feast day of Saints Fabian and Sebastian, patron saints of the town of Otočac and the Gacka valley.
Speaker further about the European Union, he pointed out that every euro should be tapped from the European funds, saying that this is an act of responsibility. “It’s a shame not to use that money that is printed in the EU and won’t last much longer. The lessons of those who have been through it say it well, so take that money without much talk and invest it in what it can be invested in. You need to be smart and calculated, invest in roads, drains, building renovations since you can’t invest in direct projects that generate money. Therefore use every euro and every opportunity that comes your way because times are insecure and gloomy. We have to stick together and think of ourselves in order to protect our interests, and not let them pull us by the nose. Therefore, we have to think of ourselves, and then only of European solidarity”, the President of the Republic stated in concluding his address.
Also speaking at the formal session in addition to President Milanović were the president of the Town Council of Otočac Tino Ostović, the mayor of Otočac Goran Bukovac, Lika-Senj County prefect Ernest Petry, the mayor of Sveta Nedelja and delegate of cities Dario Zukovec as well as the State Secretary in the Ministry of Croatian Veterans’ Affairs and delegate of the Prime Minister and of the Minister of Croatian Veterans’ Affairs Darko Nekić. Moreover, public recognitions were awarded at the Town Council’s formal session to prominent individuals and organizations that contributed to the welfare of the Town of Otočac.
Prior to the formal session, President Milanović met with members of the “Prijatelji Gacke“ association (Friends of Gacka River) in the County Chamber of Otočac. They indicated that the main goal of their activities is the conservation of the course of the Gacka River. At the meeting they noted that two thirds of the course of the Gacka have been devastated after the construction of the Senj Hydro-electric Power Plant, and warned that the project threatens further devastation of the Gacka River. It is a joint project of Hrvatske vode (Croatian water company), HEP (Croatian Electric Power Company) and Vodovod hrvatskog primorja company whose realization could cause the Gacka to run dry, warned the “Prijatelji Gacke“ association. It is of national importance to conserve the Gacka River that has great economic significance for the town of Otočac and Lika-Senj County as a whole, they added.
Accompanying President Milanović were the Adviser to the President for Human Rights and Civil Society, and the Special Adviser to the President for Homeland War Veterans Marijan Mareković.
PHOTO: Office of the President of the Republic of Croatia / Marko Beljan