cross-posted from: https://feddit.org/post/4695910
Ante Ivkovic herded sheep in Bosnia-Herzegovina with his father as a child. Years later, without his consent or knowledge, he says, a wind farm was built on his property by a Chinese company.
The Chinese wind farm company, headquartered in the capital Sarajevo, declined to comment on camera. In an email, they stated they relied on Bosnian documents that confirmed the concession’s legality and claimed there were no unresolved ownership issues.
Ivkovic, with the help of his lawyer, is pursuing legal action to prove his ownership. His lawyer is gathering evidence from archives to build the case.
[…]
Chinese wind energy companies have been aggressively expanding into the European market, undercutting European competitors by significant margins, thanks to state subsidies. This is evident not only in Bosnia, but also in neighboring Croatia.
[…]
The EU has taken notice. Under Ursula von der Leyen’s leadership, the EU is scrutinizing Chinese wind farms, investigating whether state subsidies are giving them an unfair advantage over European competitors. Lobbyists warn that with every new wind farm, China tightens its grip on Europe’s energy supply.
“On a modern wind turbine there are around 300 sensors on the different components of the turbine, which are giving information to the wind farm owner and operator, and to the turbine manufacturer about the performance. And many people in Europe are saying, ‘do we want to give that power to entities outside of Europe to control the functioning of wind turbines?’,” says Giles Dickson, the CEO of WindEurope.
[…]
Will a retiree be able to assert his rights against a 160-million-euro project? This case will help determine how much property rights are worth in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Answer (to the clickbait title): No.
Reason (from the article): The wind-farm land-rights were purchased by a chinese company for millions, directly from a Bosnian politician (and the bosnian politician had secured the land-rights from “local authorities”).
It says that right in the “article”.
…It’s a pretty lame “article”…
…clickbait title, zero evidence to support the claim, written in the style of a first-draft.
That doesn’t mean no land grab happened, just that the Chinese company may not be at fault.
They didn’t even show that this guy owns (or owned) the land…
(They even say he has no deed or proof.)
This is lazy clickbait journalism.
This is a news article, not the actual lawsuit. Since when do news articles show proof? They’re just reporting on the matter. The proof or lack of it is for the courts to decide.
Okay, well Barack Obama stole my private jet (I have no proof of owning the jet).
Maybe dw.com can turn it into a 700-word story called “Is Obama Stealing Airplanes?”
So many issues here… To begin with, the assumption that Ivkovic had proper documents proving ownership of land.
