More than a hundred different environmental organizations and initiatives are currently active in Serbia. In the past few months, there has been consolidation on the green stage. Some show ambitions to try their hand at elections, while others remain faithful to environmental activism within civil society.
When he is an activist of the movement "Defend the rivers of Stare Planina". Aleksandar Jovanovic Cuta decided to enter politics, he changed the name of the movement to Ecological uprising, which, together with the Action Open Platform, recently announced that it will go to the elections at all levels in the spring.
The focus of Ćuta's activism was mainly on the problem of construction mini-hydroelectric power plant on Stara planina. Today, the Ecological Uprising has a broader platform for the defense of the environment, nature and people - that Belgrade does not run out of drinking water on Makis, that Rio Tinto never happens, "that foreign companies, Zorana Mihajlović and Aleksandar Vučić do not displace the people who feed us".
In environmental movements and among opposition activities, Ćuta is often labeled as a "Trojan horse" of progressives. Aleksandar Jovanović, however, announced on Sunday the continuation of the blockade of bridges and roads throughout Serbia as a sign of protest against the adoption of the law on expropriation and the referendum. He told the President of Serbia to think carefully when signing the Law on Expropriation because "every house in Serbia has at least one hammer".
Informal group of citizens Eco Guard organized on Sunday, November 28 protest in the center of Belgrade demanding that the government solve the problem of air pollution. The event was announced on the Facebook page of this group, which has more than 79 thousand followers. The reason for founding the group was air pollution in Belgrade and other cities throughout Serbia. So far, Eco Guard has organized three protests where thousands of people walked for clean air. Judging by their activities, they have no ambition to grow into a political party.
The non-governmental association Kreni-promeni created the advertisement "Serbia is not for sale", which RTS refused to broadcast. Despite this, the advertisement was seen by a million people on social networks in just a few days. This association, which is known for its activism in a somewhat wider range of social initiatives, also launched an online petition against lithium mines in Serbia, signed by over 200 citizens.
Kreni-promeni was one of the organizers of the road blockade, and a representative of this association Savo Manojlović in an interview for "Vreme" announced that the blockades at the next protest, which was announced for December 4, will be even more widespread and that they will not give up until the disputed tzakons are withdrawn.
Recently, there have been protests in Serbia against water and air pollution, the construction of factories that endanger nature or mini-hydroelectric plants. One gets the impression that nothing motivates citizens so strongly to express their dissatisfaction on the streets as ecology, on which he counts and Ne davimo Belgrade. Enumerated and unenumerated environmental organizations, movements and organizations are a new force on the political scene of Serbia, a factor that cannot be ignored before the spring elections.
SP
