Ambassador Sorensen, commenting on today’s protest, said:

“Peaceful demonstrations are part of the democratic political process and citizens have every right to always make their voices heard. Public institutions must be accountable every day of the year.

“Today’s protest is an expression of a clear demand from citizens in Bosnia and Herzegovina that the institutions, especially at state level, must put far more focus on solving the priority issues. Not least among these is a permanent solution at state level to a single reference number.

“It is now of vital importance that Bosnia and Herzegovina’s institutions work at full speed to resolve a number of urgent issues. The accession of Croatia to the EU on 1 July 2013 presents important implications for Bosnia and Herzegovina. These can only be dealt with by a fully functioning system at all levels, especially the Council of Ministers and the BiH Parliamentary Assembly. We therefore strongly urge institutional and political leaders to meet the citizens’ interest, constructively engage and find solutions now.”