All the information regarding the Rio Tinto project creates confusion that will certainly be reflected in a possible referendum. This is the conclusion from the presentation of the results of Demostat’s research – “Serbia, Rio Tinto and ecology” .
When asked should Rio Tinto be given permission to open a lithium mine in Serbia, 59 percent of the people who participated in the Demostat survey said “yes” but under certain conditions.
“If an institutions or experts confirm that Rio Tinto will adhere to appropriate standards for a safe environment, over half of the survey participants said that they were in favour of the company opening a lithium mine if the experts vouch that the mine was safe,” says Srecko Mihailovic, a leading researcher at Demostat.
29% of the respondents said that even if the experts thought that mine was completely safe for the environment, they would be against Rio Tinto opening it.
“These are the important findings that indicate that in a possible referendum, people would vote “yes” if the authorities they trust confirm that the opening of the mine is safe for the environment,” says Mihailović.
Environmental issues in Serbia are finally gaining on political significance, points out Darko Nadić, a professor at the Faculty of Political Sciences as seen by numerous protests against Rio Tinto, such as the last one in Loznica, in the last few years. Nadic, however, points out that environmental movements still have not achieved significant results in Serbia.
(Nova, 04.08.2021)
https://nova.rs/vesti/drustvo/demostat-ripo-tinto-istrazivanje/
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