The Great Secret of Vučić’s BIA: What the Serbian President Hid from Scholz!

The Sarajevo daily “Slobodna Bosna” has conducted an investigation revealing the intentions of Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić before and after the signing of an important agreement with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, concerning the behind-the-scenes aspects of lithium mining on the other side of the Drina River.

“Our sources confirm that Serbian lithium could be a potential cause of new conflicts in Serbia and the region, including Bosnia and Herzegovina. The signing of the memorandum of understanding between the EU and Serbia for strategic partnership in sustainable raw materials, or ‘The Lithium Memorandum’, should be viewed from both economic and political perspectives,” states the article from “Slobodna Bosna.”

“If the recent agreement had been signed by representatives of Serbia, whose policy is fully in harmony with EU policy, if Serbia had imposed sanctions on Russia, if Serbia had respected every agreement signed with Kosovo, recognized its independence, and been a strong partner in Kosovo’s path to UN membership and all other international organizations, if Serbia and Kosovo had worked together towards EU and NATO membership, if Serbia, as an important partner of BiH, would defend its interests rather than supporting the secession of the Republika Srpska, if Serbia had been a strong partner of Montenegro rather than a divisive factor supporting the expansion of Greater Serbia with the help of the Škaljari criminal clan, if Serbia had not supported a paramilitary Serbian Orthodox Church, and if Aleksandar Vučić had not signed the lithium memorandum, there would be nothing to discuss and I would have strongly supported the signing of that document and the economic initiative,” said economist Boban Bogdanović to ‘Slobodna Bosna’.

It is completely logical and in line with the economic interests of any country in the world, including Serbia, to carry out mining and exploitation of minerals in accordance with the safest and most modern ecological conditions. However, since the arrival of the Rio Tinto company in Serbia in 2001, there has been the largest systematic corruption ever recorded in the world, emphasizes Serbian political dissident Boban Bogdanović to “Slobodna Bosna.”

Bogdanović, who narrowly escaped liquidation by regime services and later sought asylum in a European country, discussed Vučić’s intentions and his regime, as well as what is hidden behind the signing of the agreement with Scholz.

“Rio Tinto patiently awaited Aleksandar Vučić’s rise to power in order to secure not only investigative rights but also the rights to exploit lithium mining, without having previously engaged in such activities. Few people know this, but key support for the systematic corruption led by Aleksandar Vučić in 2017 came from: Donald Trump, Xi Jinping, and Vladimir Putin. As is known, most of Rio Tinto’s shares are held by the Chinese with some Russian capital,” said Bogdanović.

He also spoke about what the opposition in Serbia is doing. “Fragments of the opposition are led by populist ideas and slogans, and no one has taken responsibility to engage in resignation if lithium mining occurs and withdraw from public life. As for the opposition identified as Euro-Atlanticists, there are only a few politicians who are very reserved about everything, which is very good. They, like me, consider that lithium is a development opportunity for Serbia but should not be based on what it is based on now,” said Bogdanović.

According to him, the reason for signing the Washington Agreement was precisely the guarantee given to Vučić.

“Trump promised Vučić the partition of Kosovo and non-intervention by America in Serbia’s internal affairs, as well as full support for Milorad Dodik and for overthrowing Milo Đukanović in Montenegro in 2020. In return, Vučić pledged that Rio Tinto would get the right to exploit lithium and that Donald Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, would be allowed to build hotels at the former Yugoslav Army headquarters. Vučić also promised to allow billionaire Elon Musk to open factories in Serbia for lithium battery production. To bring evidence, Milorad Dodik himself, who could not contain himself until the end of the game without declaring his desire to meet Elon Musk, as everyone is almost certain of Donald Trump’s victory in the upcoming American presidential elections. Like millions of citizens in the Western Balkans and I among them, I have hated Aleksandar Vučić and his political activities since 1993, which have cost tens of thousands of lives across former Yugoslavia. We all know well who Aleksandar Vučić is, and instead of supporting the signing of the lithium memorandum as a Serbian patriot and Euro-Atlanticist for peace in the region, I cannot do so precisely for all the points mentioned at the beginning of our interview. Those who still believe in Vučić, and are not part of his political body, hope that this memorandum will protect Serbia from an ecological disaster and that this very memorandum is a guarantee that Rio Tinto cannot obtain exploitation rights, as strict EU laws protect this. Even I was initially inclined to believe in the EU’s sincere partnership and such an outcome, but knowing Vučić and all the weaknesses of Chancellor Scholz, I am sure that nothing good will come of it,” said Bogdanović further to ‘Slobodna Bosna’.

According to “Slobodna Bosna,” Vučić’s regime, after Montenegro and Kosovo, is expanding its control over unsuitable media in the region.

“Slobodna Bosna” writes that after the ‘actions’ in Montenegro, the next target is a media attack in Kosovo. According to this newspaper, a portal in Kosovo is under the direct control of the terrorist from Banjska, Milan Radoičić, while another portal has received multimillion-dollar transactions with the aim of publishing critical articles about the government of Albin Kurti.

Furthermore, according to “Slobodna Bosna,” media in the Federation of BiH are also under Vučić’s surveillance.

“According to our knowledge, in addition to a well-known media outlet in Sarajevo, the name of which we will not reveal yet, ‘Slobodna Bosna’ is also on Vučić’s radar. According to a well-prepared scenario, an army of bots is tasked with crashing servers and carrying out attacks on the portal and social networks, which we have witnessed numerous times, and if that plan fails, efforts to take control of the media will begin. Further details about the media under Vučić’s control will be revealed in the continuation of our investigation,” highlights Slobodna Bosna.

According to “Slobodna Bosna,” the EU has had a selective stance towards Vučić and Serbia over the past 12 years, but whether this is beneficial for the citizens of Serbia, Bogdanović responds: “When I carefully analyze, I see that American Christian nationalism led by Trump and Serbian cleronationalism by Aleksandar Vučić are two equivalents and mutual supports based on the fascist Russian corpus of Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping’s liberal communism. This is precisely one of the main reasons why the American company Albemarle or Livent, world leaders in lithium exploitation under the strictest ecological conditions and environmental protection, will not get the exploitation rights.”

Bogdanović also mentioned the weaknesses of Chancellor Scholz and German foreign policy towards Serbia. “With the signing of the lithium memorandum, Chancellor Scholz has abandoned the strategy of German diplomacy led by Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, which primarily insisted on the rule of law and meeting EU standards in Serbia. German Bundestag deputies and key politicians in Germany, as well as many of us in the region, are concerned about Scholz’s silent support for Aleksandar Vučić’s revisionist nationalist policy, as it also supports the all-Serb assembly’s declaration and the Nazi doctrine of ‘Greater Serbia’. Unfortunately, Chancellor Scholz either does not see or does not want to see how his support is leading our region towards destabilization. With the signing of the lithium memorandum, Chancellor Scholz seems to have given Putin full control over Serbia and the opportunity for Putin to weaken and divide Europe,” he added.

According to “Slobodna Bosna,” Vučić has learned a very important lesson from Putin: it is possible to entice opponents and make them dependent on oneself.

“Vučić, I am sure, will use this economic power over Germany to successfully push the interests of the cleronationalist project ‘Greater Serbia’, and all of Europe will witness the escalation of conflict, and I am already fearful of the possible outbreak of a civil war in Serbia,” said Bogdanović further.

He also warns that Vučić’s regime is threatening to use force against Serbian citizens and that he has information that more than a million Serbian citizens are ready to defend the Cer mountains and the Jadar valley with their arms and lives.

“Serbian citizens certainly do not want the implementation of this memorandum, and I am sure that neither the majority of EU citizens nor the peoples of the former Yugoslavia do. Scholz deliberately abused his position as chancellor and made a grave mistake with this support for Vučić, the same mistake the EU once made with Putin. I fear that with the signing of the lithium memorandum, the opportunity for a final resolution and the cessation of all conflicts in the Balkans, especially in BiH, Kosovo, and Montenegro, has been squandered. Vučić’s fire is unfortunately burning, and soon that fire could become an element that consumes many lives. Scholz has shown and proven that he lacks character and that his policy of incompetence will destroy everything that was built in the EU after 1945, which is above all peace, freedom, and democracy in the EU. This lithium memorandum poses a major threat to all of us,” concluded Bogdanović for ‘Slobodna Bosna’.