Imagine a village where people move in, build houses, develop tourism and beekeeping, and then the government decides to build a massive 400 kV power substation and an international energy hub that will literally destroy everything the locals have built over decades. Welcome to Gornja Brezna, a village turned victim of the arrogance of state and private investors!
At a public presentation of amendments to the spatial plan of Plužine, nearly 50 residents of Gornja Brezna demanded an extension of the public discussion to get answers about the planned construction of the substation and power lines that will literally run through their yards. Officials promised to extend the public discussion as long as needed, but now – silence! No answers, no explanations, no respect for the people who live and work there.
The residents sent two letters to Slaven Radunović, the responsible minister, requesting an extension of the public discussion and additional consultations. No response. As if they don’t exist. And in the project documentation, financed by a 28 million euro loan from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, it states that within a 2 km radius of the planned substation, there are no houses! As if the residents of Gornja Brezna are ghosts, invisible to the state and the company CGES managing the project.
This is not just a story about a substation. It’s a story about how decades of hard work, investment in the village, tourism, agriculture, and beekeeping are thrown away for the interests of privileged investors. The company Alcasar Energy behind the project is already measuring and planning how to take over the residents’ land, while they have no voice in the process.
Gornja Brezna is today the only village in Piva, maybe even in Montenegro, where people move in, young families build houses, and sustainable development is thriving. And the state? The state ignores them, plans to drive them away, and destroy everything they have created. This is a silent genocide of the village and its inhabitants.
If you think this is just a local problem, think again. This is an example of how, in the name of “public interest,” ordinary people’s lives are destroyed, their rights trampled, and profits shared among the powerful and wealthy. Mr. Radunović, is this the country you fought for? Is this justice?
If you have something to say, if you care about the fate of Gornja Brezna, maybe it’s time to speak up loudly. Because if we stay silent, the next village could be yours.
And you, dear readers, what do you think? Is this just another example of the powerful crushing the small? Or maybe it’s time for all of us to wake up? Drop a comment, share your thoughts, or just crack a sarcastic joke – because sometimes laughter is all we have left.
