ZAGREB, December 7, 2018 - The Mayor of Petrinja Darinko Dumbović told reporters on Friday that town authorities had rejected an application by the Interior Ministry (MUP) for a building permit for a migrant centre to be built in the former refugee camp Mala Gorica and underlined that nothing can be built in the area that is not acceptable for the city.
"I was informed this morning by the department head that the application is incomplete and that it has been rejected," Dumbović said.
Asked whether the town would issue the building permit once the application was completed, Dumbović said that the "state can issue a building permit based on the minister's decision. The county can do that too, however, I want them all to know that nothing can be built in the Petrinja area that is not acceptable for the town."
He added that as a once displaced person himself he empathises with the displaced persons coming to Croatia. "However, Petrinja cannot be Croatia's destination for all its problems. First displaced persons, then a dumping ground for nuclear waste. Displaced persons are coming to Croatia without any order, without documents ... we have to know who is coming and why," he added.
He underscored that it was up to Petrinja residents whether an asylum-seekers’ centre would be built near Petrinja.
The opposition in Petrinja have criticised Dumbović for allegedly negotiating with the state about the migrant centre project behind Petrinja residents' backs. Dumbović in return has sued for slander.
The MUP's Schengen coordination and EU funds department adopted a decision in July to allocate funding for the implementation of the project "Establishing infrastructure and strengthening capacities for an asylum centre in Mala Gorica as part of the European Commission's Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund," the Jutarnji List daily reported on Friday.
For more on Croatia’s migrant policies, click here.
