Slavonia, the north-eastern region of Croatia, houses an amazing biodiversity hotspot called Papuk. The 336 km2 protected nature reserve is under threat by illegal quarrying by Kamen-Ingrad corporation, run by state protected criminals. The stone is used for projects funded by the international community, such as in the redevelopment of Bosnia, or the European funded Corridor 5c, a highway from Poland to Greece under construction. The independent NGO Osijek Greens calls for action to stop corruption and save Papuk.


Papuk has been an uninhabited wilderness for a long time. There are archeological remains of settlements dating back 800-300 BC, and very recently Celtic graves have been found on mountaintops that date back to at least 1500 BC. Seven medieval castles, ottoman and gothic-romanic, serve as the last remains of human settlement.
Since 1966 the area was sealed off by the Yugoslav army as there's a main radar tower on one of Papuk’s mountains. It has recently been reinstated, to fulfill conditions on Croatia entering NATO. When the army tried to construct a new road to the tower, they were discovered by Osjek Zeleni (OZ, Osijek Greens – Osijek is the nearest city). A road blockade led to construction being stopped and public awareness on Papuk.
From 1999 onwards Papuk has a protected status as a so called nature park, which is one degree of protection less then a national park. Activists and different government functionaries are pushing towards a status as full national park and UNESCO geological monument (Geopark).

The Hotspot

The Papuk forest consists mostly of broadleaf trees, 300 year oaks being common. There are 1050 species of flora, including 11 protected flowers. Papuk houses at least 75 species of birds, of which 70 endangered. Most do not migrate. Mammals include gold mink, marter, linx, wild boar, weasel, deer, fox and beaver.
The area is geologically unique, with paleozoic caves 350 million years old, housing 11 species of endangered bats. A mesozoic geological monument, dating 17 mln years back, is unique, with comparable rock formations only to be found in the US, New Zealand and in Czech Republic. Papuk is a major underwater reservoir with seven springs (one hot), sustaining highly developed ecosystems. But this rare hard granite is also very attractive for the construction industry...

The Quarry

The largest quarry is operated by the local multinational Kamen-Ingrad corporation. Because KI quarries illegally, it doesn't pay taxes and thus makes huge profits providing some of the cheapest stone in Eastern Europe and all kinds of related construction products. Side activities include building supermarkets, water-management and mineral water collection, hotels and sportschools.
Papuk granite has recently been used for the Zagred-Split highway, constructed by Bechtel, a vulture multinational well known for profiting from (post) war situations. Bechtel is infamous in Croatia for their bad quality work; the first night the new highway opened three were killed in car crashes.
Kamen-Igrad is one of Bechtel's main partners and subcontractors in the region.
KI has become very popular as a large part of their profit has been spent on Kamen-Ingrad Football Club, the private hobby of KI's director and local godfather Vlado Zec.
Zec is a good friend of Croatia's president Mesic, who also keeps an economic interest in KI. Another member of the consortium is Nasice Cement, run by Zec's daughter in Nasice, Mesic's place of birth. Nasice is a part of Italian Nexe group (cement, bricks and ceramics).

The Godfather

K-I director Vlado Zec (in Croatian this translates to 'Rabbit') has a decisive influence in local economics and politics. By buying up stock of the regional bank, he became a member of the bank's board. He thus has a strong vote in any investment-credits in the area. Ironically, he bought the stocks on credit. Zec is also the president of the regional legislative assembly and member of the city council of Pozega, the district capital, as leader of an independent list. His local rule and high up connections makes influence of other parties or factions negligable.
He has all his work blessed by the local Catholic bishop.
Zec's rhetorics on development, growth, job creation, football and other progress-myths make him fit in nicely with the new ideals of a neoliberal Croatia aspiring to join the EU.
Zec is not very beneficial for the locals. During 2003's extreme summer drought, Kamen-Ingrad diverted the largest water source for industrial work related to the quarrying and particularly for the football field grass irrigation. This has led to locals having a summer without tap water. Still, Zec is extremely popular with the majority because of bread and games, employment and football. Dissidents and workers that cause problems get to deal with threats and his gang of bullies.
A worker who was Zec's 'manager of grass-improvement' in the football stadium apparantly did not manage to professionally satisfy his boss. After the gardener had been informed of this, he went home and was found dead the next morning. He was supposed to have killed himself.
Recently a hotel has been built by Kamen-Ingrad with personal support from president Mesic, who has an economic steak in these developments, inside the borders of the park. Several swimming pools have been built near the hotel. This has led to chloride pollution which recently led to the death of one ton of endangered fish.

The Opposition

There are several that oppose economic development and ecocide of Papuk: rangers (state-employed inspectors); rockclimbers, ramblers etc., some scientists, particularly bat-experts and geologists, and of course your friendly neighbourhoud eco-activists.
The role of the government has been very ambiguous towards the protection of Papuk, with different arms and legs of the state opposing each other, some siding with environmentalists, other with the developers.

Early 2003 Osijek Zeleni became involved in Papuk issues. Public awareness was raised on the forest when the military road construction work, and OZ's opposition to it, was hyped by media. Shortly after OZ demanded from the ministry of environment that they stop all ecocidal activity in Papuk, but the government would only compromise on the planned road. Other issues, particularly the quarry, were not discussed.
Activists have worked together closely with the rangers of the park. Though they employed by the goverment, they are independent and have to scrounge together their budget by selling nature photo books and asking mountain bikers and climbers for a small fee. Thusfar they have opposed all development work in the park.
After the road scandal, OZ published a book, 'Save Papuk', detailing the threats to the park, and then tried to force prosecution of Kamen-Ingrad. They received some support from a new minister of environment (who was fired after only three months), who publicly denounced KI-director Vlado Zec as a local tirant, but the prosecution refused to press charges for the illegal quarry. Later, police started an investigation around the source of the explosives used in the quarry but were forced to suspend this by the ministry of the interior.
Towards election time, november 2003, the rangers advised the OZ activists not to visit Papuk anymore for the time being for their own safety (the quarry workers are all armed). Zec was a parliament candidate but did not get the seat, possibly because of a bank-credit scandal and arguments with another candidate on his list.

The Plan

With an increasingly difficult political situation, OZ is seaking international support and is calling for action to force the Croatian government to stop development of Papuk. Because of numerous threats and previous violence against activists in the park and around their homes direct action is extremely risky in Papuk itself (they would just get shot). However, since much of the quarried stone is used for internationally funded projects, building international pressure can change the situation in Papuk.
EU commisioner Margret Wallström has stated in correspondence with OZ, that if Croatia wants to enter the EU, practices such as those in Papuk will have to end.
Of course, these are hollow words considering (il)legality is not an issue taken seriously by governments around the EU when it comes to construction projects in their own country. However in this case the EU might be used as a lever to stop ecocide in Slavonia. So please support OZ and raise the issue in the right places.
But Osijek Zeleni also welcomes direct action from an anti-development/progress critique top put a halt to even more hazardous construction and destruction projects - in defense of Papuk, and Mother Earth.

Jaap Krater
EarthFirst! Support Group Netherlands
www.groenfront.nl

Source: http://www.corporatewatch.org.uk/news/forest_quarry_boss.htm

Links:

Osijek Zeleni: www.zeleni.hr
Papuk rangers: www.pp-papuk.hr
Kamen-Ingrad: www.kamen-ingrad.hr
Nasice Cement / Nexe group: www.nexe.hr
Bechtel: www.bechtel.com