Defense minister Predrag Bošković said resistance to construction of military polygon on Sinjajevina is politically driven, and pointed out that the state won’t do anything to upset or confront with the locals. In an interview with Pobjeda daily, he mentioned several talks he’d had with his Croatian counterpart over Jadran, a former Royal Yugoslav military training ship. The conclusion is: it belongs to Montenegro, i.e. Montenegrin naval fleet.
Construction of military polygon sparkled tensions in public, as part of it claimed that development of agriculture and tourism would be impossible. Kolasin residents were repeating that the armed forces would have their training, apart from firing missiles (from October to May).
“The govt made a decision to examine the location and construct a polygon for test-launch of missiles. The govt is aware of the fact there are villages in that area and it decided that firing missiles at the polygon should be done when there’s no one. In summertime, there would be other military activities, such as marches, campfire, survival training and other activities. These activities would not jeopardize citizens in any way. In fact, military presence in this area would significantly contribute to infrastructure development, as roads’d be constructed. Water supply system would also be improved, and tourism potentials valorized. Some municipalities had positive reactions, such as Šavnik and Mojkovac. Unfortunately, Kolašin doesn’t even want to listen to us,” said defense minister Bošković.
“We’ll continue proving that our intentions are absolutely safe and that the environment cannot be endangered. This land is state-owned and the state may construct on its land whatever it wishes if in compliance with laws and needs. However, the govt doesn’t have the slightest intention to disturb the peace of villages, or do anything which would upset the locals,” emphasized Bošković.
