Privitization Sparks Anti-Government Protests in Bosnia

February 7, 2014 3:02 PM

Demonstrators in Bosnia-Hercegovina have set fire to government buildings, in the worst unrest since the end of the 1992-95 war. The unrest began in Tuzla earlier in the week, with protests over the closure and sale of factories which had employed most of the local population. The protests are about an ongoing workers’ dispute involving four former state-owned companies that were privatized and later filed for bankruptcy.

On Thursday, clashes between police and demonstrators in Tuzla injured more than 130 people, including 104 police officers.

• 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.
• Tuzla is the third largest city in the former Yugoslav republic and the industrial heart of the north. But many of its once thriving chemical factories halted production after being privatised, leaving hundreds of workers without jobs.
• By 7 p.m. [Friday] (1800 GMT), protesters had dispersed in three flashpoint towns, including the capital Sarajevo, but police remained out in force. All shops were closed and streets were littered with glass and debris.

posted by Anonymous (3 comments total)

clashes between police and demonstrators in Tuzla injured more than 130 people, including 104 police officers.

Wow, that's not a ratio you often see.
posted by Hoopo at 3:19 PM on February 7, 2014 [5 favorites]

former state-owned companies that were privatized and later filed for bankruptcy

How very '90s Argentina of them. YOU AREN'T SUPPOSED TO IMITATE US, PEOPLE. Ugh.
posted by Iosephus at 5:29 PM on February 7, 2014 [3 favorites]

Wow, that's not a ratio you often see.

Bosnia has an unusual amount of people trained to fight.
posted by jaduncan at 12:50 AM on February 8, 2014 [3 favorites]