Thirteen More Cities, Towns to Hold Lithium Protests

Photo: Pavle Peric

Joining the wave of nationwide rallies against the government’s plans to mine Serbian lithium, Gornji Milanovac, Subotica, Smederevska Palanka, Krusevac and Zajecar have announced protests for the evening of Aug. 8.

So far, 37 Serbian cities and towns have held such gatherings, all of which have demanded the passing of a permanent ban on prospecting for and exploiting the country’s lithium and boron deposits.

The deadline environmentalist organizations have given the government to pass the bill is Aug. 10. Representatives of the We Won’t Give Up Jadar citizens’ associations have stated that, should the law not be passed, they will commence blockades in numerous Serbian cities as of Aug. 11.

On Aug. 9, the denizens of Leskovac, Cacak, Nis, Vranje, Lazarevac, Vladimirci and Mali Zvornik will also publicly rally against the plans to begin mining lithium in the Jadar river valley in two years’ time, followed by an 11 a.m. protest in Bela Crkva on Aug. 10 and culminating in a large-scale central protest in downtown Belgrade, scheduled for 7 p.m. on Aug. 10.

Zlatko Kokanovic, the leader of We Won’t Give Up Jadar, has told BETA that his organization – which is from Gornje Nedeljice, the Jadar valley village where Rio Tinto intends to build its mine – and the central protest in Belgrade are not just against Project Jadar, but rather aim to prevent any foreign company from opening mines on Serbian soil. “The only demand [the Belgrade] rally will make of the authorities is the permanent banning of prospecting for and mining lithium anywhere in Serbia. At the gathering, we will announce which further steps will be taken to prevent the opening of mines throughout [the country],” Kokanovic explained.

The spate of protests has been supported by numerous public figures, from actors, musicians, directors and athletes to writers, academicians and university professors.

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic has reiterated on multiple occasions that Rio Tinto’s Jadar lithium mine should commence operation in 2026 “as long as the experts guarantee no danger to the environment or people’s health.”

On Aug. 8, Finance Minister Sinisa Mali told the RTS public service that serious analyses will be conducted on the mining’s potential impact on the environment and population’s health and that no exploitation will take place for 24 months, until the analyses are finished. He went on to accuse “part of the opposition” of “negatively exploiting what could be a huge developmental opportunity for Serbia.”