Aleksandar Jovanović, leader of the Ecological Uprising movement, sharply criticized the European Commission’s decision to include the Jadar lithium project in its list of strategic projects. Speaking at a press conference in the Serbian Parliament, Jovanović described the decision as a “death sentence for everything that breathes, lives, moves and flows in the Jadar Valley”, warning that local residents face becoming “environmental refugees.”
He vowed that the extraction of lithium and destruction of natural resources would not be allowed to proceed. “Our task is to defend our country and the Jadar Valley with all our strength,” Jovanović stated, emphasizing that life in the village of Gornje Nedeljice must continue uninterrupted.
Jovanović also warned that the fate awaiting the Jadar Valley will soon threaten other Serbian regions such as Bor and Zaječar. Calling for a united resistance, he urged all environmental organizations, citizens, and students to prepare for a “general mobilization” the moment Rio Tinto’s machinery appears on site.
He accused Serbia’s President Aleksandar Vučić, Speaker of the National Assembly Ana Brnabić, and other officials of exploiting the country’s lithium and natural wealth for personal gain. Jovanović recalled that Brnabić had previously declared the Jadar project canceled, misleading the public about its status.
Danijela Nestorović, MP from the Ecological Uprising, called the European Commission’s decision an “ecological and political precedent” that ignored democratic processes in Serbia. She stressed that the Jadar project was halted solely due to popular public pressure and warned European officials that the Serbian people will rise again to defend their will “at any cost.”
“Its not lithium batteries beneath this land,” Nestorović said, “but our lives — fertile soil, drinking water, and the remains of our ancestors buried there.”
