SARAJEVO, Bosnia and Herzegovina
A group of nearly 500 demonstrators on Monday gathered in Sarajevo calling for the government's ouster amid a wave of protests that began last week.
A written statement on Monday by the Presidency of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) called for a number of legal amendments to pave the way for snap elections and allow the public to choose leaders in a more democratic manner.
Demonstrators also demanded that MPs' salaries be slashed by half and retirement pensions increased.
A series of protests that began last week in the Tuzla Canton have spread across the country.
Disgruntled public workers began the protests after claiming that they had been deprived of their social benefits. The protests have seen the arrests of close to 200 people, while 300 have been injured and 17 public buildings set on fire.
On Monday, another rally in Mostar saw a demonstration of almost 1,000 people.
Bosniak member of the Bosnian Presidency Izetbegovic said Monday “hooligans” were exploiting the public protests.
"The state is the home of the people. Don't burn your home, protect it before anything else," Izetbegovic said.
Milorad Dodik, the President of the Republika Srpska (RS) - one of the two political entities in BiH - said that the Bosnian entity - the Federation of BiH - was "sliding towards disintegration."
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