Street violence flares in Bosnian protests

Riot police used rubber bullets and tear gas against protesters in Bosnia-Herzegovina’s capital, Sarajevo, on Friday, after three days of growing anti-government demonstrations.

Smoke billowed from the presidency building in the capital, as protesters also fought with police in other cities. Dozens of people were reported injured.

The protests have so far been mainly in the Croat and Muslim Bosniak half of Bosnia, where demonstrators have set fire to government buildings in several cities. But hundreds of people also gathered in Banja Luka, capital of Bosnia’s Serbian half, to express solidarity with protesters in the country’s other political entity.

The protests began earlier this week in Tuzla, formerly the industrial heart of northern Bosnia, but have escalated into the worst civil unrest since the 1992-95 civil war, reflecting anger over high unemployment, unpaid wages and corrupt and ineffective government.

In scenes similar to the recent clashes in Ukraine, protesters have hurled stones and bottles at police and have tried to take over local government headquarters.

Workers in Tuzla protested over unpaid wages after former state-owned businesses were sold to private investors and got into financial difficulties – later filing for bankruptcy. The demonstrations then spread to nearby towns including Zenica, Bihac and Mostar.

Unemployment in the former Yugoslavian republic is officially 27.5 per cent, but the true proportion may be higher. The country of 3.9m people has seen little economic growth since the 2007-8 financial crisis, but has been forecast by the International Monetary Fund to grow by 2 per cent this year.

Bosnia also suffers from its complex political make-up – a legacy of the 1995 Dayton agreement that ended the civil war – which has fostered corruption and led to political inertia. The country is made up of two entities, the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Republika Srpska, each with their own democratic institutions and law enforcement bodies.

“What is happening is what was long expected to happen. If some people need to resign they should resign,” said Zeljko Komsic, a Croat member of the country’s tripartite presidency, according to Reuters news agency. Heads of two cantons were reported to be planning to resign.

The government said it was ready to discuss protesters’ demands and investigate privatisations of state assets, but implored demonstrators to refrain from violence.