Serbian-Australian actress Bojana Novakovic on Friday questioned the Serbian government’s decision to revoke all Rio Tinto permits as a possible pre-election promise.
“We still have to see whether the government’s decision to revoke Rio Tinto permits is a political decision and pre-election propaganda or whether it really is planning to annul the decrees and permanently prevent geological research and the processing of borite and lithium by law,” she told Nova S TV. “We have to see if they’ll do this or keep quiet for 2-3 months before the elections and then give reasons why they can’t do it,” she added.
Novakovic has been actively campaigning and protesting against Rio Tinto’s plans to open a Lithium mine in Serbia. She added that environmental activists are fighting for a lasting solution through a legal procedure to prevent any other company from doing what Rio Tinto planned to do.
Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabic told the media on Thursday evening that the government had decided to revoke all permits issued to Rio Tinto as well as the spatial plan which would have allowed the company to set up a lithium mine in western Serbia. The Rio Tinto company responded in a short statement saying it was very concerned about the decision and would be looking into its legal basis. Reuters reported that Rio Tinto shares dropped almost 3 percent on the Australian Stock Market in the wake of the Serbian government decision.
