Law enforcement disperses protesters against plans to open a mine for the mineral jadarite, which contains lithium, who blocked rail traffic the day before, occupying the tracks at the central city station and Novi Belgrade station. This was said by the Minister of the Interior, Ivica Dacic.
"The Ministry of the Interior, in accordance with the laws of the Republic of Serbia and its powers, ensured the unimpeded implementation of railway traffic. "Thanks to the intervention of the police at 05:30 a.m., with strict observance of police powers, unhindered rail traffic became possible, which created conditions for the normal flow of public life in the interest of all citizens," Dacic said in a press department statement.
Earlier, the head of the law enforcement department announced that the protest that took place in Belgrade, in which up to 27 thousand people participated, was organized by scenario of color revolutions." The blocking of the "Gazelle" bridge, which connects the old and the new part of the city, parts of the international highway E75, as well as the actions of the railway stations "threatened the safety of citizens". Dacic emphasized that all the organizers have been repeatedly warned about responsibility, and violators of order and the law will be punished according to the law.
On August 10, a protesting crowd of several thousand, after gathering in the city center, set off on a procession through the streets of Belgrade. The crowd chanted the slogan "You will not dig", and when passing by the presidential palace, they insulted the head of state. On the way, the protesters stopped in front of the Foreign Ministry building and chanted: “Treason“.
Participants in the protest blocked traffic on the highway in both directions. Protesters moved along both sides of the lane towards the Novi Belgrade area. The crowd split into two columns: one blocked the bridge, the second headed towards Belgrade Center Station, where it blocked the railway connection. Protesters marched along the tracks, unfurling a 30-meter Serbian flag on several platforms and chanting the slogan “Rio Tinto out of Serbia!” (name of the concern involved in the construction of the mine). No action was taken by the police.
On August 9, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic stated that Russia had warned the country's leadership about upcoming mass riots in the republic, organized by representatives of Western countries. He emphasized that upon receiving a signal, the law enforcement agencies are actively working and “those who fantasize that they will achieve something by force will not achieve anything”.
The Serbian Ministry of Internal Affairs warned the participants in the protest about the inadmissibility of breaking the law and about the readiness of the law enforcement authorities to bring all violators to justice.