Rally Held Yesterday in New York City’s Times Square to Support the People of B&H

[wzslider]Yesterday, a rally was held in New York City’s Times Square to express support and solidarity with the struggles of the people of B&H.

Around 35 people took part in the rally, which was organized by the Balkan Queer Initiative.

The organizers connected the current situation in B&H with a wider global struggle against the neo-liberal agenda, which has served to promote inequality and social injustice, all in the name of free market reforms.

‘’Recent anti-government protests in Bosnia are part of a larger international wave of protests of citizens who no longer agree to the terms of the neo-liberal social contract. The Balkan Queer Initiative supports the Bosnian people’s demand for social justice and economic equality in the face of failed democratization processes backed by market liberalization ‘’reforms’’ that have deepened inequality through corrupt governments and lack of transparency’’, said the organizers of the rally.

The diversity of the people who took part in the rally yesterday reflected what continues to be emphasized regarding the current protests throughout B&H-that these protests emerged exclusively out of social and economic reasons, and have nothing to do with ethnicity or any other markers used to label and separate people. The people at New York City’s rally yesterday came from all walks of life, from different religions, countries, nationalities and sexual orientation, which was a strong symbol of a unity among people that is gaining momentum. Their gathering was multi-ethnic, multi-national, and anti-nationalistic.

For the first time in B&H in almost 20 years, people have begun to gather en masse, and after being in the dark for nearly 20 years, a channel has finally emerged through which they can articulate their socio-political concerns. Also, for the first time, citizens of B&H who are attending the Plenums are robustly using the word ‘privatization’ to denote an aspect of the neoliberal agenda that has proven to be detrimental to their lives. Academics in B&H are also connecting the social unrest in B&H with the global campaign of neoliberalism and capitalism.

The organizers of the rally in New York City succinctly explained how the social unrest in B&H is relevant to the entire world: ‘‘the call of protestors for non-partisan politics is telling of failure of the current political system to relate to, and be in service of the people it represents. As one of the protestors notes, government officials and politicians: ‘’are living in a different world, completely disconnected from the people, ‘’As recent protests in Turkey, Brazil, Bulgaria, Spain and Greece have shown, this is not a problem specific to Bosnia but an uprising of citizens across the world for critical re-evaluation of a system that has deepened inequalities and has only served the interests of the global 1 %’’.

(Photos: Balkan Queer Initiative)