- Development & Aid - Economy & Trade - Human Rights - Global
Governance - Civil Society Wednesday, June 19, 2013 - A popular
Serbian proverb quips that when it comes to politics there are
as many opinions as there are people in this central European
country of seven million. But the adage was turned on its head
last week when the masses sent a strong collective message to
the government: no nickel exploitation in the country. The
controversy began when mining minister Milan Bacevic announced
earlier this month that Mokra Gora – a 10,813-square-kilometre
state-protected national park – and other areas in central
Serbia contain more than four million tonnes of nickel deposits.
Bacevic went on to inform the public that several international
companies were interested in exploiting the metal, bringing into
the country investments totalling 1.44 billion dollars. Like
many nations in the region, Serbia is close to bankruptcy as a
result of the global economic crisis. A new national government,
elected to power in J