Tens of thousands of protesters opposed to lithium mining in Serbia packed the streets of Belgrade on August 10 and marched to two railway stations where some of them blocked train traffic.
The protest started at the center of the Serbian capital and then split into two groups that separated and headed to Prokop station and Novi Beograd station. Some of the protesters forced the trains to stop by lying or sitting on the tracks.
The protesters demanded a halt to Anglo-Australian metals and mining giant Rio Tinto's lithium project in western Serbia over fears it could pollute nearby land and water. They carried the banners saying "No to the mine, exploitation, eviction" and "Rio Tinto march from Serbia" and chanted, "You will not dig" and "Treason, betrayal!"
"There is no turning back, we are defending Serbia," said Zlatko Kokanovic, an environmental activist who called on the protesters to continue their action peacefully.
The protest took place at the invitation of the Alliance of Environmental Organizations of Serbia after the government failed to meet a deadline that opponents to mining set to ban the mining of lithium and the opening of mine in Jadar in the west of the country.
"It seems that we have been victimized as a future mining colony and landfill. We will not allow that. That is why we are here today to raise our voices, to disagree and to defend survival in our country," actress and environmental activist Svetlana Bojkovic told the gathering.
The Serbian government on July 16 reinstated a plan for a lithium mine in the Jadar region operated by Rio Tinto.
The Serbian government rejected the project in 2022 after massive environmental protests, but reinstated the plan days after the Balkan state's Constitutional Court said the government had acted unconstitutionally when it withdrew permits for Rio Tinto.
SEE ALSO: Germany's Scholz Praises Lithium-Mining Deal With Serbia, Says Environment Will Be ProtectedThree days after the decision a Critical Raw Materials Summit was held in Belgrade, where a memorandum of understanding between the European Union and the Serbian government on a "strategic partnership" on sustainable raw materials, battery supply chains, and electric vehicles was signed.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said the mining of lithium, a key component in batteries for electric vehicles and mobile devices, is necessary for Europe "to remain sovereign in a changing world and not be dependent on others."
Scholz pledged that mining would be carried out "in compliance with the highest standards of environmental protection, and Germany will help in this."