For eight months now, the citizens of Levač have been protecting the plot from lithium exploration – Economy

The organization “nEKO cares for Levač” reminds that the exploration right on an area of ​​75 square kilometers expires in November this year, and on the other exploration area that continues towards Jagodina and extends to 99 square kilometers, it ends in April of the following year.

Two wells were drilled on the first exploration area in 2020, when the public was not aware of any activities of this nature in the territory of the municipality of Rekovac, while another well was prevented in the village of Dragovo in October 2021.

Not a single well was drilled on the larger exploration area, which is named after the village of Ursule.

– The people of Leva showed harmony and determination not to allow this fertile breeding ground to be turned into potential mines in the future and took a large number of actions, among which was the forum that was recently held in Rekovac and which was attended by about 450 people from Levač and the surrounding areas cities, as well as representatives of all organizations that make up SEOS, points out Marica Živanović Poljo from “nEKO cares for Levač”.

She also reminds that the procedure for amending and supplementing the Spatial Plan of the Rekovac municipality is underway, which would definitively prohibit all future activities related to this type of research and mining in this area.

– The situation regarding the Spatial Plan of Serbia is being watched with concern, which foresees an enormous number of mines of various characters, which represents a serious danger in terms of soil pollution, drinking water, air and human health, as well as the consumption of natural mineral resources for the benefit of foreign companies, she points out.

Within the framework of SEOS, the people of Lev took part in collecting signatures for the People’s Initiative, which calls for a permanent ban on the exploration, mining and processing of lithium ores, boron and associated metal associations on the territory of the Republic of Serbia.

The President of the National Assembly has still not put on the agenda the regularly collected initiative, according to the demanding procedure, which was signed by 38,000 people.

– Instead, we are witnessing that Rio Tinto’s behavior shows that it has not actually given up on the Jadar project, that the representatives of the government declare every day that they regret the project, presenting it as a development opportunity. We can notice that the public is giving space to proven Rio Tinto lobbyists, such as former minister Zorana Mihajlović, and that public opinion is being “cooked” in various perfidious ways, according to our interlocutor.

And “nEKO cares for Levač”, together with the other members of the SEOS, demands that the Law and the Constitution be respected as a matter of urgency and that this initiative be put on the agenda of the Assembly.

On this occasion, SEOS had scheduled a large protest on May 18 in Belgrade, on the anniversary of the surrender of the People’s Initiative, but due to the tragic events that unfortunately happened, the lost lives of children and young people, the protest is postponed, but this struggle is by no means abandoned.

Even the people of Leva near Rekovac do not give up, considering that resistance to violence is also for the future of the children and the whole country, closely connected with their fight for their homeland. That’s why “nEKO cares for Levač” invites all people of common sense to join them at the announced protest “Serbia against violence” on Friday, regardless of political, religious or any other orientation.

– We continue our fight against greedy mining corporations. We want our country to develop in terms of agriculture, tourism and clean technologies, and for every child and every resident to live safely in an orderly and stable society, concludes Marica Živanović Poljo.

The potential status of a “mining colony” especially affects the people of Leva, who have always been farmers, proud of their fruit, wine, honey… and do not plan to “change it” for someone else’s profit.

In December, the people of Levča at the barricade in Sibnica were visited and supported by MPs from several parliamentary parties: Aleksandar Jovanović Ćuta and Nikola Nešić MPs from the Zajedno party within the Moramo coalition, Zoran Lutovac and Srđan Milivojević from the Democratic Party, Đorđe Pavićević from Ne davimo Beograd and Dejan Bulatović from the Freedom and Justice Party.

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