Protect Jadar and Radjevina Association against Dialogue with Rio Tinto

Rio Tinto's Information Center, Gornje Nedeljice(BETAPHOTO/MILAN TIMOTIC/DS)

The Protect Jadar and Radjevina association said in a press release on June 15 that it opposed opening any kind of dialogue with Rio Tinto on its environmental study on lithium exploitation in Serbia, i.e. the Jadar Project.

The association recalled that the Serbian government had canceled the Jadar Project on Jan. 20, 2022. "Illegal and incriminating studies are not up for discussion, because that would mean direct complicity with the company in undermining the constitutional order of Serbia and working against the decisions of the Serbian government," the association said.

The association noted that neither the president of Serbia nor the prime minister or minister of mining and energy had the authority to issue any permits or opinions related to the cancelled project as defined by a legislative package.

The statement stressed that reviving the Jadar Project would be a violation of multiple domestic and international laws. The Protect Jadar and Radjevina association urged the responsible agencies to act in accordance with the law and protect the people of Serbia from what it described as daily harassment and exposure to propaganda geared toward decieving the population and ultimately the destruction of Jadar and Radjevina.