Despite two petitions with over 300,000 signatures, the views of leading lawyers and a huge protest in Belgrade, the Serbian government has adopted the Law on Referendum and the Law on Expropriation!
Organizers from all over the country have united to create a nationwide blockade of roads from today at 2 pm CET for one hour. In Belgrade, scattered from all areas, we will take Gazelle Bridge on foot. Varadinska duga in Novi Sad. Crossing near the Balkans in Kragujevac! Organizers include Kreni Promeni, SEOS, Eko-Ustanak, Skupstina Slobodne Srbije among many local ecological groups and the support of the Mars Sa Drine Campaign.
This law means that the government can confiscate anyone’s property by declaring it in the “public interest”, a term that is being broadened by the changes in the law to mean any deal struck between the Serbian Government and an international corporate or trade agreement. This law was passed not just because of Rio Tinto, but other corporate interests around lithium in six provinces around the country, as well as many other dirty foregin investments threatening our environment! The locals do not want to sell their land at any cost.
“There are things that money cannot buy. Our land, our roots, our home, our heritage are not for sale and neither are our souls. You don’t have our permission to mine in Jadar! We will defend this land at the cost of our lives,” says Zlatko Kokanovic, vice president of ‘Ne Damo Jadar’.
“We can’t let these people down! Today they will steal their property, but tomorrow they can steal the property of any of us! The apartments where our children live, the houses of our parents where we learned to walk or my grandfather’s plot with a cherry tree on which hung a swing. It seemed impossible to change the opinion about Rio Tinto, because the government controlled the media. But we have reached millions of people with our advertising. And the latest research shows that Rio Tinto will be replaced by another company. It’s a won battle! But if we let this Law pass we can lose the war!
At the protests, we announced that we would enter the roadblocks for 1 hour. In Belgrade, we will block the international highway! I am aware that calling this act is a violation of the law, but we will not allow Serbia to become a colony!” Savo Manojlovic, Kreni-Promeni.
Protest organizers have explicitly advised: Do not try to organize the blockade yourself. Do not get into a conflict with the police. In case there aren’t a lot of people where you are, record the actions of the police.
This is a day of peaceful blockades of vital roads. No demolition or vandalism.
