BELGRADE (Reuters) – Thousands of people blocked traffic in front of the Serbian parliament on Saturday in protest at the lack of government measures to prevent water, land and air pollution from industries such as the mining sector.
Protesters coming to Belgrade from all over Serbia held banners saying “Cut corruption and crime, not forests” and “Young people are leaving because they can’t breathe”.
In recent years, Serbia has begun to sell its mining resources to foreign companies, despite opposition from local residents who warned more ore exploration could lead to greater pollution.
The former Yuoslav republic, which went through a decade of wars and economic crisis in the 1990s, lacked resources to tackle pollution. As Serbia wants to join the European Union, it will need billions of euros in investment to meet the bloc’s environmental standards.
Aleksandar Jovanovic, one of the protest leaders, told the crowd that investors were all welcome in the country, but added, “But you can’t poison our children.”
“None of the people who have power care about anything but money, they don’t care about ecology,” a protester, who mentioned his name only Marjan, who had driven from the city of Jagodina, 140 kilometers (90 miles) from Belgrade , said Reuters.
Reporting by Ivana Sekularac; Editing by Frances Kerry