Thousands of citizens said: ENOUGH OF THE SILENCE, THIEVES THIEVES

SARAJEVO, (Patria) - Thousands of citizens, with whistles and support for the demands, peacefully walked from Baščaršija to the Parliamentary Assembly in a protest march organized by the Platform for Progress of Mirsad Hadžikadić. Chants could be heard: "BiH is not a private state", "It is not poor but looted", "Should journalists be investigators".

Special support was given to healthcare workers as they passed by the Vrazova Health Center. At the head of the column was Hadžikadić, carrying a banner with citizens that read "Enough of the silence". 

Strong police forces monitored the participants of today's march. The march ended at 12:50 at the Parliamentary Assembly of BiH. Mirsad Hadžikadić addressed the crowd, thanking all participants and those who helped organize the march.

"We took to the streets in protest because they are denying us elections, because Mostar has been without elections for 12 years, because they are stealing elections. We are faced with a silent dictatorship in our homeland. A dictatorship that uses fear and our silence, which has created a parallel decision-making structure, a dictatorship that rules over a judiciary that exists only for citizens, not for dictators. A dictatorship that serves to finance parties, not citizens. The international community recognizes the parallel decision-making system by working with political leaders rather than institutions," said Hadžikadić. 

He read out the demands that will be sent to the Council of Ministers of BiH and the OHR. 

- Hold local elections on November 15, 2020, including elections in Mostar. Mostar needs a fair and long-term solution.

- Introduce electronic voting by the general elections of 2022.

- Amend the Election Law by the local elections of 2020 to introduce early elections if a government is not formed within 6 months after the elections.

- Respect all decisions of the Constitutional Court and the European Court of Human Rights.

- Abolish the financing of parties from the budget.

- Implement a zero-tolerance policy on corruption.

- Verify all diplomas of office holders.

Alignment of salaries in public administration with the real sector was also demanded. If the demands are not met, new protests will be held on June 27.  

Hadžikadić said that the power to the public address system was cut off, so he continued speaking through a megaphone. After concluding his address, he invited the march participants to visit the National Museum and buy a ticket because it is facing financial difficulties, thus helping it.