Tens of thousands of protesters have gathered in Belgrade to oppose the planned extraction of lithium in Serbia.
The demonstrators demanded that the government officially ban all lithium and boron mining in Serbia. The crowd chanted slogans like “There will be no mining” and “Treason, treason.”
The protestors occupied two railway stations in the Serbian capital overnight, leading to the police arresting 19 protesters in total. However, organizers of the protest emphasized that their demonstration was peaceful.
Residents of Serbia’s lithium-rich region vow to block mining
“Our rally today is ecological and has no political ambitions, but the government has accused us of seeking to stage a coup,” said actor Svetlana Bojković. “We came here today to raise our voice against something that is beyond politics,” she added.
“All of us here, we are ready to lose our lives,” the 48-year farmer told AP. “They can shoot. That is the only way they can open the mine.”
The demonstration followed weeks of protests across numerous Serbian cities against a government plan to permit lithium mining in a fertile farming valley in the country’s west.
Following one of the largest protests in downtown Belgrade in years, some demonstrators marched to the city’s main railway stations, pledging to block train traffic until an official ban on lithium mining is enacted.
The mining plan, which was previously scrapped in 2022 after widespread protests that included blocking key bridges and roads, was revived last month. It gained momentum following a tentative deal on “critical raw materials” signed by President Aleksandar Vučić government with the European Union.
While the government promotes the mine as an opportunity for economic growth, critics argue it would cause irreparable environmental damage to the Jadar valley, including its vital underground water reserves and farmland.
Local residents in the Jadar valley, Europe’s largest lithium deposit, strongly opposed the mine, which would be operated by the multinational Rio Tinto mining company.
Despite promises from both the government and the company to adhere to the highest environmental standards, opponents remain unconvinced, stating they are prepared to do whatever it takes to prevent the mine from opening.
Officials call the protests a coup plot
The protests by thousands of people are seen in a challenge to the populist President Aleksandar Vučić by the government.
The government officials and state-controlled media launched a significant campaign against the protest during which President Vučić claimed that he had received information from Russian intelligence services about a “mass unrest and a coup” being orchestrated in Serbia by unspecified Western powers aiming to remove him from office.
In a bid to mitigate some opposition, the authorities also set up a medical team to monitor potential health risks and established a call center for citizens to express their concerns.
Is Serbia an EU member?
Serbia applied for EU membership in 2009 and has been a candidate since 2012, but little progress has been made since then.
Serbia, a Balkan nation formally seeking EU membership while maintaining close ties with Russia and China, sees the EU memorandum on mining lithium and other essential materials for the green transition as a step closer to the bloc. This move could reduce Europe’s reliance on lithium battery and electric car imports from China.
There are nine countries currently in the EU’s formal accession process. Five of the candidate countries – Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia – are in the Western Balkans. Other are Turkiye, Georgia and Moldova and Ukraine, which is fighting a defensive war against Russia.