BELGRADE -- Serbian police have removed protesters opposed to lithium mining from two railway stations in the capital, Belgrade, where they were blocking train traffic.
Riot police used shields to disperse the protesters at the Prokop and Novi Beograd railway stations at around 5.30 a.m. on August 11, participants told RFE/RL.
The Internal Affairs Ministry said the railway traffic disrupted by the protests had been restored. The ministry warned that criminal charges will be brought against those who caused the traffic disruption and endangered public safety.
On August 10, tens of thousands of protesters rallied in the Belgrade city center and then split into two groups that separated and headed to the railway stations. 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 Jadar in western Serbia over fears it could pollute nearby land and water.
Protesters who had spent the night of August 10-11 at the train stations also demanded that authorities release three demonstrators who had been detained by police.
Zlatko Kokanovic, one of the organizers of the protests, told RFE/RL the three activists were detained at the Prokop station.
"Ivan Bjelic, Nikola Ristic, and Jevdenije Dimitrijevic were arrested. They are accused of disobedience and reckless behavior," Kokanovic said.
SEE ALSO: News Analysis: Kosovo Further Alienates Minority Serbs, Straining Status As 'Reliable Partner'Kokanovic on August 10 had vowed more rallies would take place in other cities across Serbia.
Interior Minister Ivica Dacic insisted police had intervened without the use of coercive measures and no one was injured.
"A total of 14 persons have been brought on suspicion of having committed criminal offenses, three on misdemeanor [charges], and two foreign citizens because of their presence at the protest near important state institutions," Dacic said.
Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said the protests were "a mockery of democracy" and added that stopping traffic at railway stations and roads was "the implementation of violence, will, and terror of the minority against the majority."
In 2022, the Serbian government had rejected the project in the wake of massive public protests amid concerns over its impact on the environment.
But it reinstated the plan on July 16 this year, days after the Balkan state's Constitutional Court said the government had acted unconstitutionally when it withdrew permits for Rio Tinto.
Three days after the court ruling, 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."