“No” to mining key raw material for electric cars. Crowds take to the streets

Thousands of people in Serbia protested in Belgrade against plans to exploit one of the largest lithium deposits in Europe – a key raw material for the production of batteries for electric cars – reports the BBC. According to data from the Ministry of Internal Affairs, around 30,000 people took part in the protest.

The decision concerns the decision of Serbian authorities, who last month restored the license of the British-Australian mining company Rio Tinto to mine the mineral in the Jadar Valley in the west of the country, the BBC reports. The license was withdrawn in 2022, after widespread protests in the country.

Activists say the mine will cause irreversible environmental damage to Serbia's Jadar Valley, where the deposit is located, the BBC explains. They want lawmakers to permanently ban lithium and boron mining in Serbia, warning of possible risks to public health and contamination of soil and water.

They gave the government until Saturday to introduce the ban.

Protesters in the capital chanted “Rio Tinto, get out of Serbia” and held banners reading “We will not give up Serbia” as they marched through the city.

Environmental activists have also taken over the city's two main train stations, with some of them lying or standing on the tracks.

Following Saturday's protest against the opening of a lithium mine in Serbia, three environmental activists were arrested on Sunday. In the evening of that day, several hundred protesters blocked traffic around the Serbian government headquarters in Belgrade, local media reported. The president of the Belgrade Misdemeanours Court, Olivera Ristanović, told the Tanjug news agency that the arrested individuals “were charged with disturbing public order through impudent and reckless behavior.” Actress and activist Bojana Novaković said that activist Ivan Blejić had been detained for 40 days, while Nikola Ristić and Jevdzienje Julijan Dimitrijević were detained for 30 days. Judge Ristanović stressed that the decision was not final, as the defendants and their defense attorneys, as well as the police, had the right to appeal.

On Sunday, in response to the arrest, several hundred protesters blocked traffic around the Serbian government headquarters in Belgrade. Activist Zlatko Kokanović told a rally that Serbian law enforcement had detained more activists organizing protests against the exploitation of Serbian lithium deposits.

– Is that it? North Korea or Serbia? You can arrest us, but we continue, we are not afraid, we go to the end – assured Kokanović.

A crowd of demonstrators marched through the center of Belgrade, after which some of them – in response to the organizers' call – blocked traffic on one of the bridges in the Serbian capital and at two railway stations.

On Sunday at around 5:30 a.m., police pushed out protesters who were blocking rail traffic through Belgrade. The Ministry of Interior announced that “in accordance with the law and the authorities' powers” steps had been taken to restore rail traffic. “Conditions for the normal functioning of social life have thus been created in the interest of all citizens,” it said in a statement. Ministry of Interior. Minister Ivica Daczić announced that criminal charges would be brought against “all perpetrators of criminal acts consisting in disrupting international public traffic and threatening the safety of citizens”. Jakub Bawołek