Slovak minister: If I were Bosnian, I'd be protesting

This gentleman should have made it clearer in his comments that the protests were across the Federation and not R.Srpska. The whole of Bosnia is not in turmoil,indeed the trappings of affluence are generally visible all over Banja Luka and other Serbian towns in RS and the people don't appear to be in open revolt,If anything they are very satisfied with the way RS is run by the exceedingly competent President,Milorad Dodik. It looks anything but an impoverished backwater to me, I wouldn't mind living there myself. This seems nothing more than a veiled dig at RS which is something this guy was not averse to when he held that ignominious office of High Rep.

Well said, Tourist. It's almost as though he was deliberately obscuring the reality of what and where things were occurring in B & H.

Let us review for the unconvinced. Bosnia and Herzegovina consist of two independently functioning entities, the Federation of B & H and Republika Srpska. The Croatians and Bosnians live in the Federation and the Serbs live in Republika Srpska. The protests were occurring in the Federation, not the Republika Srpska. B & H has a unifying government, but it is a weak formality and could not possibly be the focus of protests in the Federation of B & H.

Lajcak also said that "a lack of determination on the part of politicians (in Bosnia) caused the stagnation in all fields, including the process of Euro-Atlantic integration."

Not surprising, the politicians in Bosnia are too busy fighting quarrels with each other, mostly along ethnic lines, and trying to revise the status reached in the Dayton agreement instead of caring for the state as a whole and for the future of the people living there.

Neoliberalism is the root of the problems in Bosnia. The cure is even more neoliberalism. We need to starve and destroy Bosnia to save it.

Sincerely, Miroslav Lajack

I think it is worth pointing out that there have been a number of protests in the RS in recent times but they have not degenerated into violence and riots. People are far from happy with the current set up and are as frustrated by the lack of economic progress as are their counterparts in the Federation. As for signs of affluence, this may be true in Banja Luka but is certainly not the case in Eastern Bosnia. Places like Visegrad and Foca are in a shocking state and the people are living in poverty. The divide is not between the Federation and the RS but between the 'haves' and the 'have nots' which is in clear evidence all over the country. I say this not as a 'Tourist' but as someone who has lived here since 2002 and travelled extensively throughout the country on a monthly basis.

Ned pray tell which country is it that has no haves and have nots. I don't know of any perhaps you could enlighten us.

Lajcak also said that "a lack of determination on the part of politicians (in Bosnia) caused the stagnation in all fields, including the process of Euro-Atlantic integration."

Not surprising, the politicians in Bosnia are too busy fighting quarrels with each other, mostly along ethnic lines, and trying to revise the status reached in the Dayton agreement instead of caring for the state as a whole and for the future of the people living there.

This gentleman should have made it clearer in his comments that the protests were across the Federation and not R.Srpska. The whole of Bosnia is not in turmoil,indeed the trappings of affluence are generally visible all over Banja Luka and other Serbian towns in RS and the people don't appear to be in open revolt,If anything they are very satisfied with the way RS is run by the exceedingly competent President,Milorad Dodik. It looks anything but an impoverished backwater to me, I wouldn't mind living there myself. This seems nothing more than a veiled dig at RS which is something this guy was not averse to when he held that ignominious office of High Rep.

Neoliberalism is the root of the problems in Bosnia. The cure is even more neoliberalism. We need to starve and destroy Bosnia to save it.

Sincerely, Miroslav Lajack

Well said, Tourist. It's almost as though he was deliberately obscuring the reality of what and where things were occurring in B & H.

Let us review for the unconvinced. Bosnia and Herzegovina consist of two independently functioning entities, the Federation of B & H and Republika Srpska. The Croatians and Bosnians live in the Federation and the Serbs live in Republika Srpska. The protests were occurring in the Federation, not the Republika Srpska. B & H has a unifying government, but it is a weak formality and could not possibly be the focus of protests in the Federation of B & H.

I think it is worth pointing out that there have been a number of protests in the RS in recent times but they have not degenerated into violence and riots. People are far from happy with the current set up and are as frustrated by the lack of economic progress as are their counterparts in the Federation. As for signs of affluence, this may be true in Banja Luka but is certainly not the case in Eastern Bosnia. Places like Visegrad and Foca are in a shocking state and the people are living in poverty. The divide is not between the Federation and the RS but between the 'haves' and the 'have nots' which is in clear evidence all over the country. I say this not as a 'Tourist' but as someone who has lived here since 2002 and travelled extensively throughout the country on a monthly basis.

Ned pray tell which country is it that has no haves and have nots. I don't know of any perhaps you could enlighten us.