Protest against Lithium Exploitation Held in Belgrade on Aug. 10

Protest against Lithium Exploitation, Belgrade, Aug. 10 2024 (BETAPHOTO/Milos Miskov)

Tens of thousands of people assembled in Belgrade's downtown Terazije square on Aug. 10 to protest against lithium exploitation in Serbia and the Rio Tinto company.

The speakers said they would not brook the destruction of nature and would defend their survival on their own land. Dragana Djordjevic, research fellow at the Belgrade Institute of Chemistry, said at the protest that the damage generated by a mine could not be repaired and that tailings ponds "poison the land and the people for centuries."

A number of protesters entered the building of the Prokop railway station chanting, "They won't dig," while activists told N1 TV that they had informed the Serbian Railways that the railroad was blocked. Serbian Minister of Internal Affairs Ivica Dacic confirmed on Aug. 11 that the police took action at the Prokop railway station in Belgrade early in the morning to ensure "uninterrupted" railway traffic.

Dacic said the police "brought" 14 people to police stations for suspected felonies, three on suspicion of misdemeanors, and two foreign citizens because they were present at the protest close to buildings housing state institutions. He went on to say that there were 24,000 to 27,000 people at the protest. According to The Get Going for Change movement there were over 119,000.