Demonstrators who gathered tonight at protests in Belgrade, the capital of Serbia, due to the announcement of the opening of the lithium mine in the Jadra valley of the mining company “Rio Tinto”, blocked the tracks at the railway stations Prokop and Novi Beograd.
After the address at the protest in Terazije, several tens of thousands gathered headed towards the Gazela bridge, where they split into two columns heading towards the railway stations.
Zlatko Kokanović, activist of the “Ne damo Jadar” association, stated that their goal is to block railway traffic until further notice. He called on organizations and associations that participated in the organization of protests in the previous period to block other railway points in Serbia. According to him, three to five more points will be blocked today.
Part of the citizens blocked the motorcycle road through Belgrade on their own initiative, but it is not known whether they will continue with the blockade.
The main demand of the demonstrators is the adoption of the Law on the permanent ban on geological research and exploitation of lithium and boron in Serbia.
The protest in Belgrade was organized after the expiration of the 40-day deadline that the Alliance of Environmental Organizations of Serbia (SEOS) gave to the Government of Serbia at the protest in Loznica to pass this law.
“You won’t dig” shouted the crowd, who were repeatedly urged by the organizers to remain calm and not fall for provocations, AA writes.
