Kolubara

People living next to the Kolubara lignite mine in Serbia have suffered more under the floods due to the vicinity of the mine. Their demands for resettlement and compensation have now become more urgent than ever.

One year after a landslide destroyed thirteen houses the Kolubara mining company continues to dump waste in the same area without information from its investigations forthcoming. Locals fear that more landslides may occur. Bankwatch member group CEKOR has now increased pressure on the company and the EBRD.

Land expropriation and corruption have been two recurring themes at the Kolubara mine. This week's arrests indicate that they are closely connected.

By putting too much trust in its client EPS, the EBRD failed to notice that an important grievance mechanism for villagers near the mine was not in place - for two years. [*]

People in Junkovac (Serbia) are still waiting for information on how they will be compensated after a landslide connected to the Kolubara lignite mine has destroyed several houses and terrified the town one month ago.

A quick visit to the Kolubara mining basin reveals that the resettlement there looks nothing like the presentation from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.

People from the Kolubara mine basin in Serbia have many stories to tell about the hardships they face due to the lignite mining operations. Serbian Bankwatcher Nikola Perusic adds his account to two stories in the guardian and in Bankwatch Mail 56.