Bosnia privatization protests reach other cities

[n2doc]

By Associated Press, Published: February 6
TUZLA, Bosnia-Herzegovina — Violent protests by thousands of unpaid workers in a northern Bosnian city spread to other parts of the country Thursday and have morphed into widespread discontent in an election year about unemployment and rampant corruption.

Police used tear gas to temporarily disperse the protesters in Tuzla who threw stones at a local government building. The protesters returned after the tear gas volley, surrounded the empty government building and set tires and trash on fire. Police were reinforced with special dog units.

The protests in Tuzla, which began Tuesday, are about an ongoing dispute involving four former state-owned companies that were privatized and later filed for bankruptcy. Thousands gathered in four other cities in solidarity with the Tuzla workers, but also to protest against Bosnia’s nearly 40-percent unemployment rate and politicians whom they accuse of being disconnected from citizens’ needs.

More than two dozen people sought medical help in Tuzla, mostly from the effects of tear gas.

The majority of those injured were police officers, including one who was hospitalized with a chest injury from a thrown object. A police spokesman initially said the officer was fighting for his life, but a hospital later said his injuries were no longer life-threatening.

more

http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/bosnia-privatization-protests-reach-other-cities/2014/02/06/4907df00-8f65-11e3-878e-d76656564a01_story.html

Another protest against the 1% that you hear nothing about…

[SamKnause]

1. It is happening over the entire globe.

[Joe Shlabotnik]

2. Maybe Hillary should visit again

and then regale us with some heroic stories.

[TheMathieu]

4. Would they be similar to the heroic stories you tell your fellow right-wingers

about visiting this site?

[Joe Shlabotnik]

5. right winger eh?

This site has no shortage of posts discussing Hillary 'Dodging sniper fire' at the Tuzla airbase.

Welcome to DU. Enjoy your stay.

[dipsydoodle]

3. WED 5th - Protesters, police clash over factory closures in Bosnian town

(Reuters) - Twenty-two people, including 17 police officers, were injured and 24 arrested when protesters in the northern Bosnian town of Tuzla clashed with police on Wednesday over the closure of local factories and firms.

The incident pointed to deepening social unease over the state of the Bosnian economy and the political inertia in the country almost two decades since the end of its 1992-95 war.

Years of ethnic politicking between former warring sides - Serbs, Croats and Muslim Bosniaks - has stifled economic development and progress towards integration with the European Union.

>

"This is the start of the Bosnian spring," protester Sakib Kopic told Bosnian state radio, alluding to the wave of popular protests that shook the Arab world from 2011. "No political party is behind this protest, just the people."

http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/02/05/us-bosnia-protest-idUSBREA141L520140205

FRI 7th - Sarajevo police use stun grenades, rubber bullets as countrywide riots paralyze Bosnia.

Special forces soldiers have used a water cannon to drive off protesters trying to storm the presidential residency in Bosnian capital Sarajevo, Reuters reports. Demonstrators had set fire to the building and torched police cars stationed around it.

Several cities in the Balkan state are gripped by dissent after a local unemployment rally grew into a nationwide protest - the worst outburst of violence since the regional war ended in 1995.

http://rt.com/news/bosnia-protest-grenades-torch-053/

FRI 7th - Violent anti-govt protests spread across Bosnia.

SARAJEVO, Bosnia-Herzegovina (AP) -- Anti-government protesters stormed into the Bosnian presidency and another government building in Sarajevo and set them ablaze Friday as riot police fired tear gas in a desperate attempt to stop them.

Smoke was rising from several Bosnian cities as thousands vented their fury over the Balkan nation's almost 40 percent unemployment and its rampant corruption. It was the worst social unrest the country has seen since the 1992-95 war that killed over 100,000 people following Yugoslavia's dissolution.

As night was falling Friday, downtown Sarajevo was in chaos, with buildings and cars burning and riot police in full gear chasing protesters and pounding batons against their shields to get the crowd to disperse.

Nearly 200 people were injured throughout the country in clashes with police, medical workers reported.

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/E/EU_BOSNIA_ANTI_GOVERNMENT_PROTESTS?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2014-02-07-17-21-22