Terazije: SEOS Demands Mining Moratorium, Ministry Says No
Ecological groups rallied at the Terazije Fountain in Belgrade on Saturday, demanding a mining moratorium across more than 200 sites, while the ministry says no such contracts exist.
Belgrade saw its first major environmental rally in the city center since elections were called, on Saturday evening, September 19. Several environmental organizations and movements gathered from 6 p.m. on the square by the Terazije Fountain, traffic on Terazije was suspended, and traffic police handled security.
The rally was organized by the Alliance of Ecological Organizations of Serbia (SEOS), together with the Rangers of Eastern Serbia and the associations We Won’t Give Up Rogozna, Zajecar Against the Mine and We Won’t Give Up Bobija. The protesters are demanding a moratorium on all contracts the state has signed for exploration and mining, until their content and their consequences for the environment and the population are reviewed. Organizers say more than 200 locations are currently being explored under such contracts.
Speakers from the stage included Zlatko Kokanovic of the We Won’t Give Up Jadar association, actor Tihomir Stanic, Imre Krizmanic, associate professor at the Faculty of Biology in Belgrade, Aleksandar Manojlovic of We Won’t Give Up Bobija, Bratislav Smickovic of Zajecar Against the Mine, Saladin Begovic of We Won’t Give Up Rogozna, Ivan Milosavljevic Buki of the Rangers of Eastern Serbia, and Irena Barbulovic from Majdanpek. From the stage, Kokanovic said, “They will fade into oblivion and be remembered only for their misdeeds.”
Protesters chanted “You won’t dig” and “Pumpaj,” and banners also referenced the wildfires in the Deliblato Sands. At the end of the rally, activists raised what they called the red line in defense of the environment, an action named after the string of disputes over Jadar, Homolje, Rakita and Bobija. According to the news outlet Nova.rs, those present, besides the speakers, also included Zoran Ajic, Dijana Hrka and Misa Baculov.
Do exploration contracts exist?
The Ministry of Mining and Energy responded with a statement the same day, even before the rally had ended. The ministry said the right to geological exploration is not acquired through a contract but through a decision issued by the competent authority, following an administrative procedure that first obtains conditions from the Institute for Nature Conservation. “No exploration contracts exist whatsoever,” the ministry said, adding that the claim about 200 locations under contract shows a misunderstanding of the legal framework.
The ministry also denied claims by SEOS president Ljiljana Bralovic, who said ahead of the rally that “everything that is green is being destroyed to produce some kind of energy.” The ministry responded, “No one has been displaced in Serbia because of the geological exploration currently underway.” It added that geological exploration must not be equated with opening a mine, and that only one metal ore mine has been opened in Serbia in the past 25 years.
The statement also said mining directly employs more than 30,000 workers, with tens of thousands more family members depending on the sector, and that the country is carrying out its Mineral Resources Management Strategy through 2040. The ministry warned that halting exploration would hit tax revenue, infrastructure construction, water supply and renewable energy projects, including geothermal sources.
Three of the speakers, Tihomir Stanic, Imre Krizmanic and Zlatko Kokanovic, are also candidates on the Student List, which gives the Terazije rally a political undertone ahead of the election cycle. Whether the demand for a moratorium stays a matter of street pressure or makes it into campaign platforms will become clear in the coming weeks of the campaign.
