At the call of several ecological citizen collectives, especially on social networks, thousands of Serbs took to the streets. They reject the new law on expropriations and the new law on the referendum, which they claim are instruments for pushing through industrial projects that are harmful to the environment.
With our correspondent in Belgrade, Laurent Rouy
Not very many, but determined. Several thousand protesters, in Belgrade and in the provinces, blocked city centers and main roads. An unprecedented mobilization that the police, quickly overwhelmed, could not prevent.
A few meters from an important police device, Bogdan 50 years old, explains how the crowd took control: “ We managed to block the highway at several points. And those who wanted to join us and understood that they would not pass the police decided on their own to go and block other crossroads. That’s great ! “
Laws to promote a lithium mine
Many protesters have protested against the passage in force of two laws which favor a lithium mine project led by Rio Tinto and which has crystallized oppositions for several months. While general elections are scheduled for 2022, the demonstration is also an opportunity to oppose power.
An unemployed demonstrator protests: ” Now they want to impose the expropriation law on us whereby anyone can take your land from you on behalf of foreign investors. I am sorry that there are not more people in the streets to block the country until we are released from this regime. “
In Belgrade, the blockade ceased calmly, but in other towns there were fights and arrests. In Sabac, the crowd laid siege to the police station and obtained the release of their family. The protesters want to renew their operation next week.