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.
