Around 20,000 citizens protested in Trg bana Jelačića against Zagreb Mayor and USKOK indictee Milan Bandić and demanded his permanent removal from politics. The protest was punctuated with crowd chants of “Enough, Milan", "Go, Go" and "Thieves, Thieves".

Largest Crowd of Three Protests Against Zagreb Mayor

The protest, which was called "Enough", began at 16:00 CET yesterday. According to the organizers' observations; this protest has by far gathered the most residents of all three against the mayor. The third protest, which feature live bands and a stage, was organized by Siget Citizens Association, Green Action and Zagreb Te Zove according to Matej Devčić/Jutarnji List on February 1, 2020.

“In the first protest we shouted, ‘step down’, in the second we were jurors and passed down a ruling - you are guilty. We even showed up at the courtroom. But this has all happened with the support of the government. Without Andrej Plenkovic, Bandić would not have been able to do all this,” Gordana Pasanec, president of the Siget Citizens Association, told the gathering.

Bernard Ivčić from Green Action said that citizens came to Zagreb's Trg bana Jelačića to say enough to Bandić's system of clientelism, which is destroying Zagreb.

Mayor’s GUP Plan Benefits Friends: Residents Choking on Trash

“The GUP (General Urban Plan City of Zagreb) is a scandalous document in which Bandić backs Zagreb Manhattan for the benefit of his friends and lets us choke on the trash everywhere. We ask all MPs to oppose this plan,” Ivčić said.

Jelena Miloš from the Zagreb Te Zove said that Zagreb is ashamed of its mayor. Residents take pride in their neighborhoods and are fighting against the criminal GUP plan and waste mismanagement. All of this would not have been possible without the support of the HDZ in the city assembly, she said.

“We are also saying to the HDZ: we will not forget you,” Miloš proclaimed to the crowd.

Marko Košak from Green Action arrived to the stage holding a garbage bag full of trash.

“What I have in my hand is a symbol of Bandić,” said Košak, adding that the mayor is guilty for all the waste problems in Zagreb.

“Remember this date: February 1, 2020; today we are taking down Milan Bandić,” Košak added.

Zagreb Protest Crowd Reached 20,000: Shut Down Tram Service

Police officers wouldn’t provide crowd estimates, but observers claim the crowd, which filled the entire main city square, reached 20,000. There were so many people in Trg bana Jelačića that tram traffic was suspended at one point.

Bandić Dismissed Protesters as Whiners and Actors

Yesterday, Mayor Bandić spoke to reporters about the protest organized against him and suggested that some protesters were "whining, and some were acting."

“It is the democratic right of protesters to protest, and the democratic right of the mayor to work,” said Mayor Bandić, who responded to questions on Cvjetni trg, where P.I.N.K. had organized an event to commemorate World Cancer Day.

Highlights of the Zagreb Protest as It Happened

16:25 - Several thousand people gathered at Trg bana Jelačića to protest Zagreb Mayor Milan Bandić. Protesters came to the square with banners chanting "Prison", "Bandits and thieves" and "Enough!"

Comedian Marina Orsag, a presenter at the protest, addressed the crowd. "Thank you, everyone, for pointing out that you are not afraid to come out, that we are not little hooves who will not fight Milan Bandić," Orsag said, according to Dnevnik "What happens when you are dissatisfied with an employee? You fire him!"

16:45 - Film director and candidate in the last presidential election Dario Juričan also came to protest Milan Bandić.

The protesters were also addressed by Bernard Ivčić of Green Action. "A little kid would have done more than (Milan) Bandić. Everywhere around Zagreb, there are affairs, all with the support of Andrej Plenkovic and the HDZ, who hold a majority in the assembly.

Orsag asked the assembled people to remove derogatory signs and claimed that the protesters had "stopped traffic".

17:00 - Jelena Miloš from Zagreb Te Zove addressed the protesters. "(Milan) Bandić has to leave because he has been destroying GUPs for the last 20 years," Miloš said, to which protesters responded with "Leave!" "Zagreb is ashamed of its mayor."

"Today we are proud of Savica, who defended their park. Samoborček and Trešnjevka, because they are defending green spaces. Resnik fought against a harmful incinerator. Novi Zagreb too. "We say - 'we won't forget about you,'" Miloš said.

17:25 - Marko Košak from Green Action brought a black garbage bag to the stage. “This is a symbol of Mayor Bandić. If Milan Bandić is famous for something, then it is an inability to solve trash problems. We have had enough,'' Košak said.

''Now he wants to increase everyone's bills. It won’t work, Milan!'' said Marko Košak to Bandić, as quoted by Dnevnik.

''Remember this date: February 1, 2020, today we are taking down Milan Bandić here!'' Košak concluded to the wild applause of protesters.

17:50 - Marina Orsag ended the protest with a message for Bandić, "I have one slogan to end with - when we get rid of the scum, we get rid of the garbage," Orsag concluded.

Siget Citizens Association president Gordana Pasanec thanked everyone who came to the protest. "When I see how many there are of you are on stage, it makes me tremble. Thank you for showing up in such large numbers," Pasanec said.

Green Action: GUP Not Taking Public Interests into Account

On Friday, Green Action welcomed the Zagreb Constitutional Court's ruling that it would not increase the cost of transporting waste for Zagreb which was slated for on February 1, but they also had announced that they would not withdraw from the protest.

Green Action president Željka Leljak Gracin said there were many other reasons for today's protest because "Bandić's politics and city management are anything but acceptable." At the protest, she said, "we will once again demonstrate that it is time for Bandić to leave this position."

She also said that changes to the GUP will be decided next week, which she claims are "increasingly detrimental to the city in every case and are in no way taking public interests into account. I believe that residents need to show that this city is not Bandić's, but it is being managed as if it is," she claimed.

A considerable archive of Total Croatia News articles about Zagreb Mayor Milan Bandić can be found here.

Information on Zagreb Organizations Working to Remove Bandic

Follow Zagreb Te Zove here to keep updated on events and protests the Zagreb mayor. Information on Dario Juričan, documentary film maker and performance artist, can be found on his Facebook page and website. Information on Zagreb je NAŠ, a Zagreb-based political party, can be found on Facebook here and on their website.

More than 1,000 Zagreb residents and supporters chanted “prison” for Mayor Milan Bandić at yesterday’s protest in the city's downtown square.

The demonstration, which was organized to protest the Zagreb mayor and multiple USKOK (Croatian State Prosecutor's Office for the Suppression of Organized Crime and Corruption) inductee Milan Bandić, was held at Trg bana Jelačića, the main city square, according to Index on December 21, 2019.

The protest began at 16h and was organized by a number of associations: Udruga građana Siget (the Siget Citizens' Association), Braniteljska udruga Vidra (the Veterans of Vidra), Veterani i društvena akcija sa Zelenim odredom (the Veterans' Association with Green Squad social action group), Udruga za zaštitu okoliša UZOR iz Resnika (the UZOR Environmental Association of Resnik), Udruga Eko-Zagreb (the Eco-Zagreb Association), Inicijativa Samoborček (the Samoborček Initiative), Inicijativa Hipodrom (the Hipppodrome Initiative), and the građanska inicijativa Zagreb bez zračenja (Zagreb Radiation-Free Initiative).

According to organizers, the protest gathered around two thousand citizens. They are planning another protest at the end of January.

Clear Message from Zagreb Protesters: Resign!

Among the messages on the banners were "Resign", "Enough of Banditism", "Your Mayor is poisoning you and robbing you", "Bandić's godfathers: You will fall into Resnik" (Resnik is a garbage dump in Zagreb), "Put the right thing (Bandić) in the right place in Remetinec" (Remetinec is a Zagreb prison), "Zagreb must not be defined by Milan Bandić"," Whose benefitting from the garbage centers?" and "Bandić and his 26 bandits".

City Council 'Thieves' Voted for Waste Removal Cost Increase

They explained that these "26 thieves" are the city council members who voted for an increase in waste collection costs and will be voting on the GUP (General Urban Plan). The protesters also exhibited four garbage bags which contain the names of the mayor and his associates, Mirka Jozić and Sanja Jerković, with one bag saying "26 city deputies."

They called the bags "radioactive waste", which they say will be taken to Bandić and the Zagreb City Administration on Monday where they will be placed under a pine tree.

Gordana Pasanec, from the Siget Citizens’ Association, said that they were protesting because they were fed up with Milan Bandić's despotism, from the "golden toilets", and benches for 20, 30, 40 thousand HRK, his bullying of city government staff, and his insults directed at journalists and citizens.

She also pointed out that Zagreb is separating only 10 percent of its waste, there is no real waste management system or fair billing and Zagreb streets are flooded with waste.

"The chaos we are witnessing is the result of a long-standing (lack of) waste management policy implemented by the Mayor of Zagreb. There is no single justifiable reason for this; no increase in services except for the systematic robbery of citizens by the Mayor through waste collection, which has benefitted individuals and interest groups for 20 years.

Branka Genzić-Horvat from UZOR said that they have been protesting for 14 years and because they are fed up with what is happening and want to make Zagreb a better place to live.

Pensioner in Wheelchair Calls Bandić 'Garbage'

Višnja Škreblin, who was introduced as the oldest activist, said that Bandić has consolidated his power (over the city) and has humiliated and belittled its citizens. “He says 'if you can't pay the cost of utilities and services, then you should leave Zagreb,’” which infuriated the wheelchair-bound pensioner, who publicly called Bandić "garbage."

"We have been witnessing this for 14 years. And it all started back in 2005 under the leadership of a mayor who has put himself at the forefront of these interest groups. The Waste Management Center is a continuation of concocted thievery, which this mayor carries out in the interest of specific groups and individuals. The Ministry of the Environment has backed an octopus who has ruled Zagreb and Croatia for many years," she said. She also said that for 14 long years they have been closely watching every step of this mayor and now the “water has reached her throat".

Ivan Kos from the Eco-Zagreb Association said that what Mayor Bandić is doing was "unacceptable".

Fled Scene of Drunk-Driving Accident in 2002

Bandić, a onetime member of SDP (Social Democratic Party) was elected mayor of Zagreb in 2000 and re-elected in 2001. In 2002, Bandić fled from the scene of a motor vehicle accident while under the influence of alcohol and was forced to resign.

The Zagreb SDP had the authority to nominate a new mayor, but the city council was so dominated by Bandić that it was questionable who would be able replace him. Eventually Vlasta Pavić took over, while Bandić retained a position as deputy mayor. However, he was eager to become mayor again, and blocked Pavić's development plans while pushing for an early election. In response, Ivica Račan (then head of SDP) tried to restrain Bandić's activities.

Successful Power Grab Led to 2005 Reelection

At that time, the law would not allow Bandić to serve a second term as mayor. Although Vlasta Pavić attempted to strike a deal to end their ongoing feud, but Bandić eventually succeeded in undermining her authority. Even though early elections were not held, he was re-elected mayor in 2005.

Bandić is currently serving his sixth term as Mayor of Zagreb. His administration has been defined by scandal and accusations of corruption. Bandić left SDP in 2009 and identified as an independent candidate for six years. In 2014, he was arrested on charges of corruption, bribery and organized crime, along with two other members of the Zagreb City Council. In 2015, he founded his own party, the Bandić Milan 365 – Labor and Solidarity Party. The 365 in his party’s name refers to his claim that he works for the city of Zagreb as mayor every day of the year.

In the 2017 local elections, Bandić narrowly defeated challenger Anka Mrak Taritaš. His current term ends in 2021.

Follow our Politics page to keep up with protests against the Bandić administration. For more information on upcoming protests against the Mayor, check out the Zagreb Te Zove (Zagreb is calling you) page on Facebook.

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