The police in Bar escorted several citizens who rebelled against the cutting of cypresses in Bar.
Three of the civilian protesters were taken to the police station where, according to police quotes, "they should make statements as citizens".
In front of the building of the police in Bar gathered 30 citizens, relatives, and the friends of three young men, one of whom is a student at the gymnasium in Bar.
Among the citizens are also professors from the schools in Bar.
Young men were released after giving statements and were welcomed by the applause of the citizens.
Stevo Martinovic, Bojan Rukavina and Uroš Pajovic told reporters that they were taken to the police because they undertook passive resistance to police officers, that the police officers treated them fairly and that they protested quietly against the cutting of the cypress trees within the fenced area.
Due to the lack of personal documents, Blažo Marinović was also in the station and was released after giving a statement.
Many police officers were present at the site.
In front of the construction site fence, citizens yelled "UA" at the sound of the wood-saws and were singing the national anthem.
This morning, around six 6 a.m., the cutting of the cypress trees began in front of the gymnasium in Bar.
The trees were removed to build a kindergarten there.
Citizens of Bar were battling for weeks in order to save the cypress trees and kept watch to protect them.
The petition was signed by thousands of citizens, but the city authorities remained silent.
By 8 a.m. almost 20 trees had already been cut.
Police officers were legitimizing civil activists this morning, who gathered in the enclosed yard and said to "decide whether to continue the protest or not.
Around 8:30 a.m. there were 15 activists inside the site, and around the fence the citizens gathered while the workers of the Nikšić "consortium" continued to cut the cypress trees.
Representative of the contractor said that “Konzorcijum” workers from several cities started cutting around 7:15 a.m., "according to all obtained permits" and that the plan was to cut 80 to 90 trees.
The citizens protested when the cutting began at 7:15 pm, pointing to the trees that were already cut inside the schoolyard.
The police unofficially said that the citizens are legitimized this time, and that the next time they will be arrested, and that "we will provide assistance if the contractors call us", with the statements that the citizens, from this moment, are located where they are not supposed to be because of the works.
Support to the citizens was given by the participants in the expert seminar "Development of Critical Thinking" for elementary school teachers who are holding their workshop in the amphitheatre inside the enclosed part of the yard, besides the cut cypresses.
Text by Radomir Petric, on January 17th 2019, read more at Vijesti
