Opposition Leader Calls for Protests Against Rio Tinto’s Jadar Project

Following a meeting involving opposition members and representatives of the associations We Won’t Give Jadar Up and the Alliance of Serbia's Environmental Organizations (SEOS), Ecological Uprising leader Aleksandar Cuta Jovanovic announced on the evening of October 14 his support for a "nationwide people’s uprising against miner Rio Tinto."

Jovanovic called on citizens to organize blockades across Serbia, urging them not to be afraid and assuring that adequate legal protection would be provided if necessary. Speaking to TV N1, Jovanovic mentioned that the Loznica local assembly was legally required to hold a session by October 23. Amid concerns that the Decree on the Jadar Project might be passed through non-transparent means, Jovanovic emphasized that all opposition aldermen were prepared to attend the session, whenever it may occur, to prevent the incorporation of the Decree into the spatial plan for the special purpose area—a move that could enable the controversial project to move forward.

Jovanovic also announced a protest rally in Loznica on October 16, along with one-hour blockades of several bridges across Serbia on October 19, with further details to be shared with the public in due course.

He further noted that the ruling majority MPs' refusal to hold an open vote on a bill to ban lithium and boron mining in Serbia reflected "their fear of the people's reaction." On October 10, the Serbian Parliament concluded a session focused on lithium mining, with the majority of MPs rejecting proposed amendments to the Law on Mining and Geological Exploration.