Information about the protest against air pollution in

Belgrade: "Breathe carefully, life-threatening"

13.11.2022.

The fifth protest against air pollution called "People against poisoners", organized by the Eco

Guard, ended today a little after 2 pm on Republic Square.

Eco Guard asks the President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vučić, to, in accordance with the defined

role of expressing national unity, immediately create the conditions for the implementation of

all legal regulations in the field of environmental protection, especially air quality.

They are asking the Prime Minister of Serbia, Ana Brnabić, that the Government immediately

adopt the Air Quality Program with an action plan from 2022 to 2030 and provide finances

for its implementation and provide continuous information to citizens about air quality in all

parts of the country, and that all Air Quality Plans be urgently implemented adopted by local

governments.

The Republic Public Prosecutor Zagorka Dolovac is requested to immediately issue a

mandatory instruction to the lower prosecutors to act with urgency, within three days, in all

cases of pollution and when there are indications in the public that someone is committing a

criminal offense that pollutes the environment.

At the protest, activists from Šabac, Barajevo, Petrovac na Mlava, Loznica, Čačak,

Smederevo, Valjevo and several parts of Belgrade spoke about environmental problems and

the struggle they launched to solve them.

The participants tentatively gathered in front of the Presidency of Serbia, where the professor

of the Faculty of Physics, Vladimir Đurđević, spoke, who said that "health or salary is a false

dilemma" and that citizens know that it is possible to have both health and salary.

From there, the participants walked through Terazije to Trg Republike.

The demonstrators presented various local environmental problems and demands, which

include opposition to lithium exploitation and excessive mining in eastern Serbia, air pollution

is caused, they claim, by Valjevski's Krušik and Elixir in Šabac, as well as problems

surrounding hazardous waste, which they claim is processed by Unirisk. in Barajevo.

Traffic was blocked in that part of the city center.

The participants carried banners with the inscriptions "Only agreements save us from smog",

"Stop environmental refugees", "Serbia Pakistan - our air is suffocating our lungs", "Don't act

stupider than you are - for our children", "Breathe carefully, dangerous for life" and others.

Politicians and MPs Biljana Stojković, Aleksandar Jovanović Ćuta and Savo Manojlović from

the organization "Kreni prameni" were also in the column.

Professor of the Faculty of Physics in Belgrade, Vladimir Đurđević, said that Serbia was the

European record holder for pollution for half a year and listed numerous cities where record

pollution was achieved this heating season.

He said that one billion euros is needed to put filters on factory chimneys.

"The dilemma of salary or health is false. We want both and it is possible, but the protests

should continue," said Đurđević.

A representative of the ecological association "Tvrđava" from Smederevo said that because of

"cancerous red dust" there are 6,800 cancer patients in that city, which is seven percent of the

total population of Smederevo.

The speaker, who was introduced as Katarina from the Novi Beograd blocks, said that

environmental activists managed to get the state authorities to react to wild incinerators,

which she said did not represent any social activities, but "a well-developed criminal

business".

Source: https://www.euronews.rs/srbija/drustvo/68721/protest-protiv-zagadenja-vazduha-
u-beogradu-pazljivo-disi-opasno-po-zivot/vest