Serbia's president says lithium protests part of 'hybrid' warfare against country
Serbia's president Sunday accused lithium mining project protesters of Western-backed 'hybrid' warfare, vows to take strong legal action following demonstrations.
Serbia’s president Sunday accused demonstrators who opposed a lithium mining project in the Balkan country of being part of a Western-backed “hybrid” warfare against his government and vowed to take strong legal action against those protesters who have blocked railway and road traffic in the capital a day earlier.
In one of the biggest protests in recent years, tens of thousands took to the streets in the capital, Belgrade, Saturday against lithium mining in Serbia, despite officials’ warnings of their alleged plot to unseat populist President Aleksandar Vučić and his government.
Some of the protesters later blocked tracks at two railway stations in the city, and briefly stopped traffic on a major highway. Riot police early Sunday pushed them out of the railway stations with their riot shields.
Interior Minister Ivica Dacic said 14 people have been brought in for questioning. Police are working to identify all the perpetrators who will face charges, he said.
Protestors block railroad tracks of Belgrade's main railway station to protest against Serbia's government plan to reboot a lithium mine on August 10, 2024. Marko Djokovic / AFP - Getty Images fileVucic told reporters Sunday that although the main protest was done democratically, the blockage of traffic on the highway amounted to “terror of the minority over the majority.”
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