Thousands protest in Serbian against lithium mine project

​​​​​​​By Talha Ozturk

BELGRADE, Serbia (AA) - Thousands of demonstrators gathered in the center of the Serbian capital of Belgrade on Saturday to protest the opening of a lithium mine.

The protest was organized by associations on the day of the expiration of a 40-day deadline set for the government to adopt the law on the permanent ban on geological research and exploitation of lithium and boron in Serbia.

Organizers previously announced that blockades would be organized in several locations, without giving details.

The main requirement of the organizers is to prevent the adoption of the law.

"You won't dig" shouted protesters, who were repeatedly urged by organizers to remain calm and not fall for provocations.

"Yesterday, when I left, I said goodbye to my children, wife, and mother and said I will return, one way or another and I will not let you down,'' said the President of the “We Won’t Give Up Jadar” association, Zlatko Konakovic, in his address to the crowd.

Dragana Đorcevic, research assistant at the Institute of Chemistry, told the crowd that Serbia's mining rent is the lowest, labor is cheap, there is little concern for the environment, and those are the reasons why companies want to open mines in Serbia.

Later, thousands marched toward the Gazela bridge -- the most important bridge connecting two sides of the Sava River in Belgrade.

Environmentalists blocked streets in the city center leading to a highway, and blocked traffic on the Gazela bridge.

The protest is the latest in a series of 50 demonstrations that began at the end of June.

President Aleksandar Vucic said Friday that Russian intelligence warned him about preparations for a coup in Serbia with the support of Western powers.

Environmentalists have rallied against the project by Anglo-Australian multinational mining company, Rio Tinto.

Vucic said June 24 that he wanted Serbians to decide on the extraction of lithium mines and it was not a decision to be made immediately.

Serbians have been holding demonstrations at regular intervals for years to protest the project.

Rio Tinto discovered lithium mineral reserves in Loznica in 2004.

The chief public prosecutor of the Higher Public Prosecutor's Office in Belgrade, Nenad Stefanovic, warned that violence in the capital would not be tolerated and urged demonstrators to use their right to peaceful assembly under the Constitution and laws.

Minister of Internal Affairs Ivica Dacic also said violence would not be allowed, as well as attacks on state institutions and police.