Bosnians Plan Anniversary Protests to Warn Authorities

Bosnians are planning demonstrations across the country on Saturday to mark the anniversary of the start of protests of February 7 2014 - and remind local leaders of how little they have done to improve matters over the past year.

Peaceful demonstrations have been announced in several towns and cities, including Tuzla, Zenica, Mostar and Sarajevo. Meanwhile, police agencies across the country said they were prepared for all scenarios, including violence.

Last year's protests turned angry when hooligans joined the demonstrations and set fire to government buildings, overturned cars and fought with police. Several hundred policemen and protesters were injured in street clashes, which brought scenes unseen since the end of the war in Bosnia in 1995.

In Tuzla, the birthplace of last year's protests, protests will be held to remind the authorities of growing public dissatisfaction.

"We have announced a peaceful gathering to let the authorities know 'we are here'," Sakib Kopic, from the Solidarity Union of Tuzla, told Balkan Insight on Friday.

"For the first time the people in the Federation [entity of Bosnia] have realized that they can take matters into their own hands against authorities who are destroying our jobs and employing their own people," he said.

Meanwhile, the directorate for police coordination said it was preparing, in case things get out of control once again.

"The directorate with other agencies plans a range of activities and measures to ensure that these gatherings or demonstrations are not used by certain hooligan groups for destructive purposes, as happened last year," a statement on Friday said.

In Sarajevo, the cantonal police urged all participants at Saturday's planned gathering to refrain from...

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