Several dozen citizens held a peaceful protest on Saturday, near the town of Jablanica against the beginning of construction of a small hydroelectric power plant (HPP) owned by one of Bosnia’s former basketball players and an NBA star Mirza Teletovic.

The Coalition for the Protection of Bosnian Rivers and several dozen residents of Jelacic and Zlate settlements, near the south-western town of Jablanica, said that Teletovic is building the said power plant without their approval and that he is trying to build his ‘American dream’ over the backs of his neighbours.

Jelacic and Zlate residents held a small gathering as a warning sign, expressing their opinion on the construction of the small hydroelectric power plant. Four months ago, 95 percent of all residents signed a petition and we even filed 2 lawsuits against the power plant construction,” one of the protest organizers, Dzenan Sasic, told N1. “Next Saturday we plan to hold an even bigger protest. By that time we will get all the documents from the Court so that police will not be able to disperse us like they did this morning.”

 He added that the police intervened so that the gathered residents would leave the area, but that there were no incidents recorded by them or the police.

https://twitter.com/EmirAletic/status/1053623476907659265

Mirza Teletovic is a Bosnian former professional basketball player who spent six seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA) o the US. He also represented and captained the Bosnia and Herzegovina national basketball team.

While in the NBA, he played for the Brooklyn Nets, Phoenix Suns and Milwaukee Bucks. In September of 2018, Teletovic announced his retirement due to pulmonary emboli in both lungs. 

According to the locals, the construction had already begun on the Doljanka river and that in spite of the two lawsuits they filed, the investor continued the construction which, according to them, is contrary to the legal practice.

Mirza Teletovic made no comments regarding this issue.