Hundreds of demonstrators gathered today at protests organized by an informal group of citizens called “ReSTART” in front of the Office of the High Representative of the International Community (OHR) in Sarajevo, the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina, reports Anadolia.
According to the organizers, the reason for the protest gathering is the secessionist announcements of the entity president of Republika Srpska, Milorad Dodik, and dissatisfaction with the actions of the high representative of the international community in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Christian Schmidt, and the announcement of the use of Bonn powers.
Suad Đozić, the founder of ReSTART, said that the organizers decided that only citizens from all parts of Bosnia and Herzegovina would address the gathering today, and that no well-known figures in BiH politics, but also any party or non-party organization that would use this opportunity, would speak. for self-promotion.
“ReSTART Bosnia and Herzegovina stands for a normal, functional state, like all the countries of the European Union. Just that, nothing more. In such and such a normal state, citizens are all equal, the judgments of the European Court of Human Rights are respected. We have come to demand that they respect only what the international community demands with its verdicts, conventions, and resolutions. That’s all we ask for, that we all have a normal state and that we are equal before the law,” said Đozić.
Citizen Slobodanka Krstanović says that, in accordance with her name, she has been fighting all her life and is called to fight for the just fight for freedom. She criticized the work and earlier decisions of High Representative Schmidt.
“We have had judgments of the European Court of Human Rights for a long time… Even the previous long-term High Representative Incko did not have the strength to tackle the ruling ethno-nationalists and impose these just judgments. This current one, with its decisions, meets the wishes of one ethnic group in the Federation, while secession has been threatened for years in another entity,” she said.
Almedina Muftić also addressed the gathering, who pointed out that in Bosnia and Herzegovina fascism was defeated in the Second World War and during the aggression against Bosnia and Herzegovina, and that this country will not allow fascist policies, nor that a European nation be made a “casual nation”.
“I will not talk about you, Christiane Schmidt, and those who support you. You have said the best about yourself with your actions. “You presented yourself in the worst light, siding with those who were found guilty of genocide and joint criminal enterprise by the International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Court for War Crimes,” Muftić said.
She said that High Representative Schmidt is in Bosnia and Herzegovina and will go as a guest.
Citizen Benjamin Čuvić pointed out that these are not protests, but a rally for the defense of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
He pointed out that many young people came to the meeting, but also that there are many young people sitting in cafes, and he told them that they will not have the right to reparation if one day they wake up and realize that they live in a “ghetto” or “European Palestine”.
“Thank you to all of you who are here for your persistent fight for our Bosnia and Herzegovina. All over the world, Bosnians and Herzegovinans are known for their courage and determination. And we will prove the same to the world here and in larger numbers”, said Čuvić.
Those gathered today carried banners with messages, including “Stop, embargo on democracy”, “Schmidt, we do not give state property and territory of BiH” and “Stop, ethno-demon-cracy”.
At the same time, a session of the Governing Board of the Peace Implementation Council (PIC) is being held today. That session is the reason why today’s protests were prolonged, considering that they were originally announced for Monday.
Similar protests were held in front of the OHR in the recent past, and the last such rally was on March 31 and gathered several thousand citizens. The demonstrators, like today, demanded the resignation of Christian Schmidt.
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