Bosnian protesters protest against pollution in Sarajevo
SARAJEVO, Bosnia — Dozens of people gathered on Monday for a protest in Sarajevo over dangerously high air pollution in the Bosnian capital in recent weeks.
Some participants wore face masks during Monday’s demonstration outside the building housing the Sarajevo government.
Organizers say they are pushing people to action and drawing public attention to the decades-old problem typical of the city, which is squeezed into a deep valley between the mountains.
Air pollution measurements over the past few weeks have shown that levels of harmful particles in the air have exceeded European Union safety standards several times.
Local authorities had put in place emergency measures for days last week, calling on citizens not to use coal and wood for heating and to ban diesel cars.
Local government leader Edin Forto told protesters that the situation cannot change in a few months, but will take much longer. He said that citizens should also do their part.
“A lot of people refuse to change their routine,” he said. “They don’t want us to stop traffic or cancel classes (because of the pollution), so we need to work on raising awareness.”
Later on Monday, a group of foreign ambassadors and international officials met with Sarajevo authorities targeting the pollution, news portal Klix reported. Photos posted by British Ambassador Matthew Field on Twitter showed the officials wearing face masks.
“Good progress is being made, but more determined action is needed at all levels,” Field tweeted.
Experts say air pollution in the Balkans is heavy due to the use of coal-fired power plants and old cars, among many other factors. Over the past week, thick fog added to the problem.
A report from the UN Environment Program last year said people living in the Western Balkans lose up to 1.3 years to air pollution.
Experts have warned that these and other environmental setbacks could slow down Bosnia and other Balkan countries’ efforts to join the EU.
Eldar Emric, The Associated Press