After the violent protests in the summer, the Serbian government is becoming increasingly nervous. Activists are being subjected to intimidation, harassment and calls for denunciation.
The latest protest in Belgrade last Sunday was only indirectly directed against the planned lithium mining. It was more directed against the state repression that follows the protests in the summer months. These reached their peak in mid-August, when tens of thousands took to the streets in several Serbian cities to demonstrate against a planned lithium mine in the Jadar Valley in western Serbia.
Large lithium deposits were discovered there in 2004. In 2021, the British-Australian corporation Rio Tinto announced that it wanted to mine the lithium. The initial local resistance to this project – the population is particularly concerned about groundwater pollution – has now become a nationwide protest movement. In addition to environmental associations, this includes leftists, conservatives, nationalists and clerics. A circumstance that is making the government led by President Aleksandar Vucic nervous – because never before in his term in office has the opposition to the government been so broadly supported by society.
Now the regime’s nervousness is turning into repression. Environmental organizations that organized the protests in the summer report that dozens of activists have been temporarily arrested, their homes searched, and their cell phones and laptops confiscated. Threats on social networks are also increasing, making life difficult for activists.
The public broadcaster RTS reports on the protests, but not on the arrests and searches. This is precisely why several thousand citizens gathered in front of the RTS headquarters last Sunday. They demanded that the company also report on the potential environmental damage of the planned lithium mining and on the authorities’ actions against activists in its most important news program.
Harassment and entry bans at the border
The repression is not only directed against local activists. The Croatian singer Severina Vuckovic, who is popular throughout the region, was detained, searched and interrogated at the border for around four hours on August 25 when she entered Serbia. Among other things, the officials asked her questions about her support for the protests against the planned lithium mining.
The admission by senior Serbian politicians that lists of so-called “undesirable persons” were being kept is explosive. Aleksandar Vulin, the deputy prime minister, promptly came forward as the author of the lists. He said he had personally drawn up the lists in his former role as head of the secret service. Vulin was sanctioned by the USA in July 2023. Washington accuses him of involvement in arms trafficking and drug smuggling, among other things.
Serbian Interior Minister Ivica Dacic also confirmed the existence of the lists and admitted that – in addition to suspicions of organized crime and terrorism – people were also placed on the list because of their opinions. Dacic later backtracked and promised to remove celebrities – including the singer Severina – from the list. Over the past few months, police have repeatedly detained activists and artists at Serbian border crossings and airports, carried out lengthy checks and interrogations and in some cases banned them from entering the country.
The Bosnian activist Nedim Music, who is fighting against the planned lithium mining in his homeland, was banned from crossing the border into Serbia on July 11. Activists who are working to normalize relations between Kosovars and Serbs are also being harassed. One of them is the director of the Youth Initiative for Human Rights in Serbia, Sofija Todorovic, who, according to her organization, was detained at the airport for an extended period of time on August 31 for the eighth time in two months.
Opaque “citizens’ movement” calls for denunciation
In addition to state harassment, propaganda is also being used in the dispute over lithium mining. Just a few days after the Severina scandal, a dubious movement called “Kopacemo”, which means “We will dig” in English, took action – with its own website and X-Account. It describes itself as an independent citizens’ movement that is committed to the planned mine in the Jadar Valley. The project is a pillar of Serbia’s economic future, creating thousands of jobs.
The aim of the movement is to “educate the public, dispel untruths and promote responsible mining.” However, “Kopacemo” does not provide any information about who is behind the movement. The website does not contain any information about the members or the financing. The authors explicitly justify their anonymity by saying they are afraid for their lives. They accuse the environmental movement of turning “decent people into spreaders of extremist views” by stirring up fear and using propaganda.
But their own methods are anything but squeamish. Since September 1, “Kopacemo” says it has been keeping “the first public register of ecological terrorists in Serbia and the world.” It contains portrait photos of 22 people, first and last names, information about their profession and membership of parties and associations. In one case, the sexual orientation is also explicitly mentioned – it is an openly homosexual activist.
The 22 “eco-terrorists” listed are leading members of environmental movements, opposition parties or academia. “Kopacemo” invites citizens to “report people involved in eco-terrorism” – a call for denunciation.
The environmental associations continue to fight
At the top of this list is Zlatko Kokanovic. The veterinarian and cattle breeder is the leader of the environmental association “Ne damo Jadar” (We will not give up Jadar). He told the daily newspaper “Danas” that only two organizations could be behind “Kopacemo”: either Rio Tinto or the Progressive Party (SNS) of President Aleksandar Vucic.
His association now wants to repay in kind: it intends to keep its own register of lobbyists from Rio Tinto, scientists close to the company and local representatives of the ruling party. Kokanovic told “Danas”: “If they put us in their crosshairs, then we want to see how the government reacts when it suddenly becomes the target of citizens and their threats.”
But Vucic is not only using pressure in the battle of opinions about the mine, but also using placating statements. On Thursday, on the sidelines of a visit to troops not far from the Jadar Valley, he expressed concern that Rio Tinto is not investing enough in protecting the environment and water in order to increase its profits. He will not allow this to happen.