Skip to main content
Tens of thousands protest against Rio Tinto lithium mining in Serbia
People hold banners reading, "We Won't Give up Jadar!" and march during a protest against pollution and the exploitation of a lithium mine in the country in Belgrade, Serbia, August 10, 2024. Jadar is a farming valley in western Serbia that holds one of Europe's richest deposits of lithium

TENS of thousands of protesters rallied on Saturday against lithium mining in Serbia as officials claimed it was part of a plot to topple populist President Aleksandar Vucic and his government.

Mr Vucic said he had been tipped off by Russian intelligence services that “mass unrest and a coup” were being promoted by unspecified Western powers that wish to oust him from power.

Officials and state-controlled media launched a major campaign against the rally, comparing it to the Maidan uprising in Ukraine’s capital Kiev, which led to the toppling of the country’s pro-Russia president Viktor Yanukovych in 2013.

The 95th Anniversary Appeal
Support the Morning Star
You have reached the free limit.
Subscribe to continue reading.
Similar stories
Erhai lake
Climate Crisis / 9 October 2025
9 October 2025

One of the major criticisms of China’s breakneck development in recent decades has been the impact on nature — returning after 15 years away, BEN CHACKO assessed whether the government’s recent turn to environmentalism has yielded results

Serbian gendarmerie officers separate protesters from opposing camps during an anti-government protest in Belgrade, Serbia, August 13, 2025
The Balkans / 14 August 2025
14 August 2025
Riot police block a street as anti-government protesters light flares at the end of a rally pressing for an early election after nearly eight months of almost daily anti-corruption demonstrations, in Belgrade, Serbia, June 28, 2025
Serbia / 29 June 2025
29 June 2025