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07 08 2008 This Thursday’s “Life in Kosovo” show discussed the delayed destruction of three sulphuric acid containers in the complex of Trepca in Mitrovica.
It asked why the destruction of the poisonous containers
was delayed until now. How dangerous is the sulphuric acid? Whose fault is it
that these containers were allowed into Kosovo? Which company was chosen for
destroying the three containers? How long will it take to destroy the material
and how much will it cost the Kosovo government? Is the life of citizens living
near the containers in danger?
To discuss these issues and more, joining Jeta Xharra in
the studio were:
Bislim Zyraku – Director of the Managing Department for
Emergencies in Kosovo;
Enver Tahiri – from the Environment Spatial Mission in
Kosovo;
Halil Qela – engineer from Kosovo and organizer of
protests against the containers ;
Nexhit Musa – environmental specialist in
Mitrovica;
Tahiri said that there were problems on where to place
the acid because of the reaction of people and the smell of the
acid.
“We made a lot of analyses, but we never found out if
this substance is dangerous or not,” Tahiri said.
Qela disagreed. He pointed out that the population does
not do analyses, but are the ones who have to bear the consequences if there is
any poison in the containers. “From all the facts that we have here, our
conclusion is that these three mystery containers are poisonous. If we were to
put some trees there, after a while the trees would rot,” he said.
Musa pointed out that this sulphuric acid is very
dangerous for the population of Mitrovica. “This substance causes you to have a
headache, stomach-ache and dizziness,” he said, adding that ``I have never seen
more people than in these past three years buying medicines for these
reasons.’’
He said that he had heard that 12 people had been
poisoned in the village near the containers.
Qela interrupted the discussion and asked Zyraku why
these containers should be in Mitrovica. “Maybe because everyone knows that
Mitrovica has a higher immunity for poisons,” he said ironically.
Zyraku disagreed. “In emergency situations we always
react. This was not an emergency,” he said.
The debate heated up when the panellists discussed if
the person who transported the three mysterious containers is now in
jail.
Tahiri said that of course the person is in jail. “I do
not know where the investigation is,” he said, adding that the Ministry of
Environmental Issues and the Ministry of Internal Affairs is working on
that.
A report by BIRN journalist Fatmire Terdevci was then
broadcast. The report pointed out that the sulphuric acid is dangerous to the
population of Mitrovica.
After the report Qela said that the population of the
village of
Shupkovc decided to
protest. “I know that blocking the streets is not the right decision, but that
was the only way to get a reaction from my government. My conscience and my
children where the reasons for me protesting,” he
said.
During the discussion the panellists were presented with
a lot of questions without answering them. And so the three mysterious
containers remained a mystery.
Tahiri emphasized that the Ministry of Environmental
Issues will be responsible for the acid. “There is a group which works with this
acid, so of course we will find an option to send it back to the place it came
from,” Tahiri said.
Qela interrupted the conversation saying that he thought
that the government is not taking the issue of the containers seriously enough.
“This is not oil, this is poison. The ministry of environment and the government
must react as soon as they can,” he said.
Musa ended the debate by saying that there is no chance
for this “poison” to go out of Kosovo. “This is not a political issue, it is a
human issue, however it is better to react now because this problem can be an
environmental problem for the whole Mitrovica, and maybe Kosovo,” he
said.
Following the debate, Life in Kosovo broadcast an
exclusive interview with the minister for environmental issues, Mahir Yagcilar
questioning him on the Mysterious Containers
Yagcilar answered the three mysterious containers in
Mitrovica reportedly containing sulphuric acid.
He said that the containers are dangerous for the
population of Mitrovica and the government is working to find a way of dealing
with the containers. He said that the government needs time to destroy the
material in the containers and that there is a group which will work with it.
But the government has not yet identified a final
solution.
The programme then showed another reportage from BIRN
Kosovo journalist Muhamet Hajrullahu showing people donating blood in
Pristina.
Life in Kosovo is a co-production between Kosovo Public
Television, RTK and the Balkan Investigative Reporting Network, BIRN. It is
broadcast every Thursday, starting at 20:20.
At the beginning of 2010 BIRN network published Digging Deeper - A Guide for Investigative Journalists in the Balkans, written in cooperation with Sheila Coronel, Director of the Stabile Center for Investigative Journalism and professor of professional practice at Columbia University, New York.
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