Serbia's president on Sunday accused protesters opposing a project to open a lithium mine in the Balkan country of being part of a Western-backed “hybrid” war against his government and vowed to take strong legal action against those that have blocked rail and road traffic in Belgrade, the day before.
In one of the biggest protests in recent years, tens of thousands of people took to the streets in Belgrade on Saturday against a lithium mine in Serbia, despite warnings from officials of an alleged plot to topple populist President Aleksandar Vucic and his government.
Some of the protesters later blockaded two railway stations in the city and briefly stopped traffic on a highway. Early on Sunday, the police evicted them from the railway stations.
Interior Minister Ivica Dacic said that 14 people have been arrested for questioning. The police are working to identify all the perpetrators who will face charges, he said.
President Vučić told a press conference that although the main protest took place democratically, the traffic jam represented “terror of the minority against the majority”.
“It is part of the hybrid approach” designed to topple the government, President Vučić told reporters. “We knew everything in detail. Do you think you have surprised someone?… We have always been restrained, without violence we have ensured order in the country, without a problem”.
Earlier in the week, the Serbian president said he had been tipped off by Russian intelligence services that “massive riots and a coup” were being prepared in Serbia on Saturday by unspecified Western powers, who want to oust him from power.
Vučič: The authorities in Kosovo may try the violent opening of the main bridge in Mitrovica
Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said on Sunday that he expects the authorities in Kosovo to try to open the main bridge over the Iber River in Mitrovica next week, while expressing hope that NATO peacekeeping forces will do “their job”.
“In Kosovo we expect new provocations. On August 14 and 15, we expect the violent opening of the bridge. In the meantime, foreign agencies will try to impose some new Serbian leaders, portray them as brave even though they are not, try to separate them from Belgrade and then agree with (the prime minister of Kosovo , Albin) Kurt how to be his servants, but in fact they will work for foreign interests. Let me tell you right now that it won't work. I call on KFOR to react and not allow the unilateral opening of the bridge, as they have stated. We have respect for KFOR and we believe that it will do its job”, said the Serbian president, without providing any evidence for his assertions.
The Government of Kosovo has announced the opening of the bridge that marks the dividing line of Mitrovica in the north inhabited by a Serbian majority and the south by an Albanian majority. The bridge is open for pedestrians, but not for car traffic. It is patrolled by NATO-led peacekeeping forces.
But plans to open the bridge prompted criticism from the United States and the European Union. Blloku also warned that it may increase the punitive measures against Kosovo, if the administration in Pristina continues with unilateral and uncoordinated actions in the north, inhabited by a majority of Serbs.
Government officials and state-controlled media waged a widespread campaign against the rally, comparing it to the Maidan uprising in Ukraine's capital, Kiev, that led to the 2013 ouster of the country's then-pro-Russian president Viktor Yanukovych. The organizers of the protest in Belgrade have repeatedly denied such accusations.
Saturday's rally in the center of the capital followed weeks of protests in dozens of towns across Serbia against a government plan to allow a lithium mine to open in an agricultural valley in the west of the country.
This plan was canceled in 2022 after large demonstrations that included the blocking of bridges and major roads. But it was revived last month and got a boost with an agreement signed by President Vucic's government with the European Union.
The Balkan country is officially seeking EU membership, while maintaining very close ties with Russia and China. The deal with the EU on lithium mining and other materials would bring Serbia closer to the bloc and reduce imports of lithium and electric cars into Europe from China.
While the government insists the mine is an opportunity for economic development, critics say it would cause irreparable pollution in the Jadar valley.
President Vucic said on Sunday that there will be no lithium mine opening in the next two years while all risks are investigated, in an apparent attempt to appease critics. He also offered the possibility of a referendum on the issue, an offer unlikely to be considered by environmentalists amid speculation that President Vucic is being accused of rigging votes in his favor.
