Ecological protest in Belgrade: “Red line” against the sale of Serbia’s natural resources

The Alliance of Ecological Organizations of Serbia (SEOS), together with four ecological associations — “RIS Rangers of Eastern Serbia,” “Ne damo Rogoznu,” “Zaječar protiv rudnika” and “Ne damo Bobiju” — organized tonight, September 19, the protest titled “Red Line – Jadar – Homolje – Rakita – Bobija…” in the square by the Terazije Fountain in Belgrade, starting at 6:00 PM.

The activists are demanding a moratorium on all contracts the Serbian state has signed for geological research and mining exploitation — at more than 200 locations — until these contracts are reviewed from scratch. Their message: “Serbia is not a mining colony!” They accuse multinational companies of being ready to exploit “Serbia’s national treasures” and warn that the planned mines threaten cities, villages, national parks, protected species, food, water and air — citing Jadar, Valjevo, Mionica, Homolje, Zaječar, Bajina Bašta and Raška.

Expected to speak at the protest were Ljiljana Bralović (SEOS president), Milena Orubović Đukić, Saladin Begović (representative of “Ne damo Rogoznu”), Bratislav Smičković (“Zaječar protiv rudnika”), Aleksandar Manojlović (“Ne damo Bobiju”) and Imre Krizmanić, professor at the University of Belgrade’s Faculty of Biology. Among those present were actor Tihomir Stanić, activists Zlatko Kokanović and Zoran Đajić (both candidates for parliament on the “Student List”), Dijana Hrka — the mother of Stefan, who lost his life in the Novi Sad canopy collapse — and “Budi heroj” association leader Miša Bačulov.

Citizens took to the street and traffic in Terazije was blocked during the protest, according to the Nova.rs live blog.

Reaction from the Ministry of Mining and Energy: the ministry said the demand to suspend all geological research is “a reckless idea, expressed without assessing the legal, economic and social consequences,” not a serious political program. According to the ministry, “blockades and the announced ban on development are not the policy of the Government of the Republic of Serbia” — the state decides on each specific project according to the law, expert analyses, defined procedures and environmental impact assessment, rather than preemptively halting all research and development activities.

Source: Nova.rs