SIX MONTHS AFTER TAGEDY, NO ONE HAS STILL BEEN ACCOUNTABLE FOR 19 LOST LIVES

JABLANICA, APRIL 4 /SRNA/ - Today marks half a year since the tragedy in Donja Jablanica, when 19 people lost their lives in a landslide caused by a storm, and the Herzegovina-Neretva Canton /HNC/ Prosecutor's Office has not yet commented on this case, while the authorities and the public in the Federation of BiH /FBiH/ remain silent.

Locals of Donja Jablanica, including Amina Imamović, are still in alternative accommodation and are trying to bring life back to Donja Jablanica. They will demand answers from the authorities on April 9 at a protest organised by an informal group of students in front of the FBiH Government in Sarajevo. "The fact of no having any answers hurts, 19 lives were lost. Is it possible that no one will be held responsible for so many lives?" Imamović told SRNA. She reminds that for years, stone from other locations was processed and stored above Donja Jablanica. "Have the competent services ever checked what is being done? The quarry owner is not the only one responsible. There are a number of people responsible. There was also illegal logging, fires and a number of other things. No one has ever been prosecuted. We will keep protesting until we get answers," Imamović emphasized and called on the citizens to join them at the protest in Sarajevo. In addition to the lack of response from the Cantonal Prosecutor's Office, Imamović pointed out that there is absolutely no concern for the survivors. "Since the tragedy on October 4, the FBiH Government has done nothing for the people of Jablanica. The municipality has done and is doing what it can, the FBiH Government does nothing. We ask them if they will start doing their job," said Imamović. The HNC Prosecutor's Office says that the team of prosecutors is waiting for the geological expert findings, which is very extensive and crucial in the investigation. "The team of prosecutors is in constant contact with the expert. In addition, prosecutors are undertaking other investigative actions, witnesses are being heard," Ana Raič, the spokesperson for the HNC Prosecutor's Office, told SRNA. Forensic experts found out the victims died by drowning in soil and mud or from mechanical injuries, i.e. severe fractures caused by rocks and other material that fell on them. The HNC Prosecutor's Office should answer whether the human factor is responsible for this tragedy, and shed light on the role of the quarry above Donja Jablanica. Answers from the Prosecutor's Office and the FBiH Government will also be sought on April 9 by students who note that the federal government has not yet responded to their requests related to last year's catastrophic floods. As they state, the FBiH Government is responsible for the situation in Donja Jablanica, Konjic, Fojnica, and other areas affected by the October landslides and floods. In October 2024, 29 people, including two unborn babies, lost their lives in the floods that hit the surroundings of Jablanica, Konjic and Fojnica. The cataclysm that hit Donja Jablanica claimed 18 lives in that settlement, and a total of 19 in the area of the municipality of Jablanica.