Serbia: anti-mining protests
Featured image: mass-protests in Belgrade
It has been reported by Rote Fahne, Austria, that on Saturday, August 10th, mass protests were organized throughout Serbia. Already in the days before, there were protests in many cities across the country where the demonstrators demanded that geological research and lithium acquisition across Serbia to be permanently prohibit. People defend themselves against the signed agreement between the EU and Serbia weeks ago.
Two years ago there was a large protest movement against the planned lithium mining in the Jadar Tal. After months of street blockades by the population, President Vucic had to make concessions at the time and imposed a regulation that prohibits the exploitation of lithium in Serbia. The Serbian Constitutional Court now revoked this decision and the Serbian government signed the agreement with the EU in July.
According to estimates by the Rio Tinto company, a planned mine is to produce around 58,000 tons of lithium annually. The extraction of the raw material that is required for the production of batteries, especially for electric cars, means serious damage to the environment, whereas large parts of the population of Serbia live. Rio Tinto is not a blank sheet, this company is responsible for the largest mine accident in Lassing/Austria. In this mining accident in 1998 ten people died because Rio Tinto illegally advanced the mine construction too close to the surface and up to under installed area. In addition, there were no current plans of the pit and the rescue teams could only be based on the advices of the miners.
The aforementioned protest was the culmination of a process that began with the decision of the Constitutional Court. The number of people who took to the streets of Belgrade, as well as other places days before, caused panic in the authorities. Accordingly, they engaged the heaviest media artillery and famously failed in the attempt. Two railway stations in Belgrade were blocked. 19 people were reportedly arrested, accused of blocking the tracks at Belgrade’s main train station.
It was said that there is a majority in Serbia that does not feel that it is represented by anyone; which took to the streets of their cities, from the smallest municipal to regional centers creating the magnificent amount of hundreds of thousands of people struggling against imperialism, pollution, corruption and the semi-colonial status into which the Balkan is forced.
Especially German imperialism tries to enforce its interests and of its automobile monopolies in the region. Already some years ago the Rio Tinto company established direct contacts with three German car monopolies – Daimler Mercedes, Volkswagen and BMW, as documents of the Serbian mission to the European Union revealed.
