BANJALUKA - Građani Banjaluke koji su okupljeni u grupi “Park je naš” pismom su se obratili gradonačelnicima iz mreže balkanskih gradova koje će do 23. juna boraviti u Banjaluci.
Pismo koje je pisano na engleskom jeziku, prenosimo u cjelini:
Civic Initiative “Park je naš!”
Subject:
Participation at the 13th Meeting of Balkan Cities Network
Dear Mayor,
We, the citizens of Banja Luka and members of civil society organizations, are honoured with your participation at International Meeting of Friendship and Cooperation between major Balkan Cities in Banja Luka.
We would like to draw your attention to one important issue, highly related to the concept of sustainable development of urban areas. Banja Luka has been well known for its alleys and green areas, and for a long time Banja Luka has held a title of „city of verdure“. However, in the past decade city administration converted most of its green areas into buildings or parking lots.
For more than 20 days, hundreds of citizens of Banja Luka have been peacefully protesting against destruction of the last larger green area in the city centre. More than 6.000 citizens supported this civic initiative by signing the petition and 12 distinguished civil society organizations fully supported the initiative. Citizens and CSOs submitted official requests to the mayor of Banja Luka for all documents related to plans for destruction of this green area, as well as the request for meeting with the mayor. Unfortunately, the mayor did not ensure disclosure of documentation nor did he answer our request for the meeting.
We believe that you support transparent and good governance, but also
understand the importance of participatory planning in development of urban areas. Therefore, we ask you to address this issue at the panel „Role of Mayors in Transformation of Cities in the Balkans“ and ask the mayor of Banja Luka why the city administration is not willing to disclose relevant documents that should be public or agree to an open dialogue with CSOs.
We believe you will enjoy your stay in Banja Luka, and we hope you will promote transparency and good governance at the 13th Meeting of Balkan Cities Network.
If you are interested to know more about this issue, we are at your disposal for further information and are willing to meet with you at any convenient time or place.
Sincerely,
more than 6000 signatories of the petition and
Civil Society Organizations: Agency for Development and Cooperation
CEREBRA, PERPETUUM MOBILE' Center for youth and community development,
Center for Environment, Center for Civic Initiatives, Helsinki Citizens’ Assembly
Banja Luka, Youth Comunication Centre, Transparency International BiH,
Agricultural Information Center, Association “Oštra nula”, Association “Tender”,
Centre for informative decontamination, UNSA Geto.