Serbia: Protesters rally against promotion of Rio Tinto lithium mine project in Belgrade

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Protesters took the streets to rally against the Rio Tinto mining company who recently started its media campaign on Serbian state-owned TV Broadcasting company RTS to promote its lithium mine project, in Belgrade on Saturday.

RTS has started advertising for the Anglo-Australian metal and mining company by advocating for the benefits of mining lithium.

The protesters with slogans like ‘RTS and Vucic are servants of Rio Tinto’ and ‘We won’t give you Jadar ‘ on buttons and signs gathered in front of the Serbian broadcasting company to demand a stop to the joint campaign of the company and the Serbian Government.

Various ecological organisations and environmentalists, as well as professors from Belgrade University, have been protesting against Rio Tinto and Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic’s administration plans to start explorations and the eventual opening of lithium mine near the Jadar and Drina rivers in the west of the country.

Critics say the agreements between the government and the world’s second-largest metal and mining corporation are not transparent and that the preparations for mining are being conducted despite wide public protest.

Since Rio Tinto announced in 2020 it would come to Serbia for mining one of the largest lithium deposits in the world, the company has encountered opposition from locals and several environmental organisations, as well as mining experts who warn about the possible major impact on the environment caused by the explorations.

SOUNDBITES:

SOT, Veljko Gligorijevic, Protester from Jagodina (Serbian): “I am against lithium mines in the whole of Serbia. Rio Tinto is bad for us, for our lives and quality of our lives.”

SOT, Adam Radosavljevic, Protester from Valjevo (Serbian): “Serbia should be presented in the world market as a producer of healthy food, but with Rio Tinto and similar companies we won’t have such a future. I wish a better future for my children and that’s why I am here today.”

SOT, Ivan Manic, Protester from Valjevo (Serbian): “There are two reasons why I am here today: the first reason is a human reason. I am not some experienced activist, I simply love nature, I love our country. The second reason is that I am part of the local ecological organisation in Valjevo demanding that our nature is taken care of. It will never be better for us if we don’t stand up and do something about it.”

SOT, Ivica Lazarevic, Protester from Jagodina (Serbian): “I am against lithium mines and against all kinds of pollutants who want to destroy Serbia. Also, I am against the subjective reporting of RTS (Serbian broadcasting company) who is supporting Rio Tinto. We are paying RTS with our money and then Rio Tinto comes and pays for the advertisement and all of a sudden television is on their side.”

#RioTinto #Belgrade #Serbia

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