Maybe someone imagines “social dialogue” as some finely organized public discussion, some big conference where experts and interested citizens come and all present their arguments for and against (for example, lithium mining) in a subtle tone, and then they present some conclusions and make decisions . Of course, the question is who in such a fine dialogue would be the one who summarizes the conclusions and makes and implements the decisions.
Even without such a well-conceived social dialogue in Serbia, it is quite clear who has the power to make conclusions, make and implement decisions, and that is what we have been watching and listening to in recent days. The company Rio Tinto has an incalculable amount of material resources to campaign in its favor and lobby for its interests; that money is quite enough to pay for the services of various experts and media. Their power is so huge that the authorities can do nothing more but obey the company’s needs and sell the citizens the story of a better future. What is omitted is that that future would be better for the company that exploits our minerals (and the small number of people who contribute to it), but not for Serbia and its citizens.
Social dialogue has been conducted
The position of the Rio Tinto company in Serbia, mining explorations and the potential start of lithium mining in the Jadra valley are almost the only thing in Serbia about which there has actually been a social dialogue in recent decades.
All the experts who wanted to speak publicly presented their arguments. The majority of them have clearly said that they oppose lithium mining in Serbia; and those were not just individuals but also relevant institutions, including the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts. Various expert meetings and televised debates were organized, and again, those who opposed the opening of the mine were always in the majority. There is no space in this short opinion piece to repeat all arguments against lithium mining in Serbia; anyone who really wants to can get acquainted with the already stated positions through a simple internet search. In short, the damage to the environment would be far greater than the benefits that the state and citizens can have from lithium exploitation; the extremely low mineral rent, on the basis of which the state budget would cash in a meager amount of the real value of what is obtained from exploitation, doesn’t help the case.
Citizens did not remain silent in that social dialogue. At the end of 2021, we saw a culmination of environmental protests that shook Serbia for months – they were the most massive protests in recent decades and their message was quite clear – Rio Tinto has nothing to do in Serbia!
At that moment, the state authorities understood this message and took steps that gave the citizens hope that someone had finally heard them. However, not much time has passed and now we are again hearing the story of a better future that lithium mining would allegedly bring.
So, to be clear, both the profession and the people have clearly stated that they are against lithium mining in Serbia. Further calling for “dialogue” does not make much sense – what kind of dialogue is possible with those who have already promised something to the citizens and trampled on it? Or do we expect the authorities, with so many open corruption cases, to negotiate something on behalf of the citizens with a company globally notorious for corruption, neglect of the environment and disrespect of labor rights?
The majority of people in Serbia have taken a clear position that they do not want our country to be a mining colony. And now it’s up to all of us to somehow defend that will. Some, in order to draw attention to the problem, bravely set out on foot from Novi Sad and Belgrade to Loznica, where a large protest will be organized on June 28. Support this fight and participate as much as you can – the dialogue has been conducted, the decisions have been made and it is time to implement them.
Translation from Serbian: Iskra Krstić
This article was ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED in Serbian on June 15, 2022.
