Serbian lithium is intended to make the EU less dependent on Chinese raw materials and contribute to Serbia’s economic development. But for weeks now, people have taken to the streets against the lithium deal with the EU. They fear the most severe destruction of the environment.
Several tens of thousands of people They demonstrated on Saturday in Belgrade against the planned lithium extraction in Serbia. They defied warnings from official sources about an alleged plot to overthrow President Aleksander Vucic and his government.
Vucic explained that he had received a warning from Russian intelligence services that “massive riots and a coup d’état” were being prepared on Saturday by unspecified Western powers who want to force him out of office.
At the demonstration in Terazije in Belgrade, a large crowd chanted over and over: “There will be no mining” and “Treason, betrayal.”
Some of the attendees marched to the capital’s two main train stations, saying that would block rail traffic until their demands on lithium mining.
Demonstration of the caliber of a coup d’état?
Government representatives compared the demonstration to the Maidan uprising in the Ukrainian capital, kyiv, which led to the overthrow of then-pro-Russian President Viktor Yanukovych in 2013.
“Our demonstration today has to do with environmental protection. We have no political ambitions, but the Government He has accused us of seeking a coup d’état“, said actress Svetlana Bojković.
“We have come here today to raise our voices against something that goes beyond politics,” he shouted to the crowd.
Actress Yelena Stupljanin spoke of a “planetary moment”: “But it is also true patriotism to fight for clean water, for clean air and for a clean country that feeds us all in Serbia. Jadar is not for sale! You’re not going to dig! You’re not going to dig!” Stupljanin said.
Resuming a scrapped plan in 2022 to mine lithium
For weeks, people have demonstrated in cities across Serbia against a plan to allow lithium mining in a fertile valley in western Serbia. The plan was scrapped in 2022 after large demonstrations that blocked key bridges and roads, among other things.
Last month, however, the plan was reactivated. He received a new boost from a preliminary agreement on “critical raw materials” that the Vucic government signed with the European Union.
Serbia seeks EU membership but maintains close ties with Russia and China. The EU memorandum on lithium mining and other key materials for the green transition would bring Serbia closer to the bloc and would reduce European imports of lithium batteries and electric cars from China.
According to the Government, the mine is an opportunity for economic development, but critics say the mine would cause irreparable pollution and damage to the Jadar Valley.
The inhabitants of the valley are strongly opposed to the minewhich will be operated by the multinational mining company Rio Tinto.
Both the Serbian Government and Rio Tinto have promised to maintain the highest environmental standards in the mining processbut opponents are still not convinced.
Jadar Valley residents said nothing could persuade them to accept the mine. They said they were willing to do anything to prevent the opening.
In recent weeks, Tens of thousands of people have participated in environmental demonstrations throughout Serbia. The protest movement poses a major challenge to Vucic and his increasingly autocratic government. Opponents want the Government to officially ban lithium mining and boron throughout the country.
