The Prime Minister of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Nermin Nikšić, announced on his Facebook profile about today’s announced protests, the aim of which is to defend Milorad Dodik from the indictment, and said that citizens should fight for their rights, not for the rights of politicians.
“Expressing dissatisfaction and fighting for one’s rights is not only a right, but in a way also an obligation of citizens. It is a way to show dissatisfaction with the work of the politicians they chose to represent their interests in government bodies. That is why it is useful for every democracy to have citizens who are not afraid to publicly express their (dis) satisfaction with political decisions and politicians,” he pointed out.
“I invite citizens to freely and publicly express their attitude towards the government, to organize gatherings where they will demand their rights, but at the same time to think about how smart it is to go to protests where they fight for the rights of politicians and where politicians use them as a living wall behind which they are hiding from responsibility for their actions. You ask us to fight against corruption and fight for everyone to be the same before justice, and then you go out to protests to protect politicians from the judiciary,” said Nikšić.
He says that after several years of stagnation, BiH has started from a standstill, reform laws have been adopted, the benefits of which citizens will soon feel. We have at our disposal large sums of funds for infrastructural and other significant projects that will make life easier for citizens, and therefore we should not allow these positive changes to be jeopardized for the sake of populism and the protection of a few politicians.
“We expect the protests to pass peacefully because the safety of citizens is our priority. There is simply no negotiation about the stability of the state and its institutions, and the safety of all its citizens. That is why it should be clear to everyone that the authorized institutions and services will be ready to prevent anyone who tries to threaten freedom and rights of others,” wrote Nikšić on Facebook.
