In Serbia, despite the bad weather, hundreds of people protested again against the mining company Rio Tinto, its plans for lithium mining in the Balkans and the government’s environmental policy. The demonstrators blocked roads, for example a motorway exit in the capital Belgrade. Here there were clashes between angry drivers and the demonstrators. Drivers got out of their cars and verbally abused the demonstrators. Hand fights broke out. An injured person had to be treated in the ambulance.
Protester Anja Stefanovic says: “Environmental protection in Serbia is being trampled on. Everywhere in the country foreign investors are destroying the country. The Rio Tinto project is the drop that brings the barrel to overflow. We simply can no longer accept that.”
Suzana Lazarevic does not want to give up under any circumstances: “We are blocking the street with our bodies alone. We want everyone to understand that we are not selling out our country, that we are not going to let a multinational colossus destroy our environment and take it away from us, what our ancestors defended with their blood. “
Experts warn that mining lithium, a material used in automobiles and other batteries, would destroy the area’s farmland, ecosystem and water. Improving environmental protection is one of the criteria Serbia would have to meet in order to make progress on its way to accession to the European Union.
Prime Minister Ana Brnabic said her government is “close to canceling all deals with multinational mining company Rio Tinto”. “We listen to our people,” said Brnabic.
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