An informal group of citizens is organizing a protest called “Bosnia and Herzegovina for a Free Palestine”, which will take place on Sunday, October 12, 2025, in Sarajevo. This time, the protest has a special significance because the organizers will make specific demands to the authorities of Bosnia and Herzegovina to respect international law, end cooperation with Israel, and initiate measures to support the Palestinian people.
The gathering will begin at 1 p.m. at the Memorial to the Murdered Children of the Besieged Sarajevo (1992–1995), followed by a protest walk along Maršala Tito and Zmaj od Bosne streets to the area between the National Museum of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Historical Museum of Bosnia and Herzegovina, where demands addressed to the institutions of Bosnia and Herzegovina will be read.
“We are addressing you at a time when the final offensive of the Zionist regime on Gaza and the West Bank is unfolding before the eyes of the world. The Palestinian people today face the threat of complete destruction. The genocide is taking place continuously, while international institutions and the world’s leading powers remain silent and unable to stop it,” the organizers said.
Support from journalists, doctors and educators
Over the past two years, according to the organizers, the Israel Defense Forces have killed more than 67,000 people, including more than 20,000 children, 270 journalists, 1,500 doctors and health workers, and 430 aid workers. More than 460 people have died from hunger and malnutrition.
For this reason, they have specifically called on doctors, health workers, journalists and media workers to come to the protest in white coats or with PRESS signs, as an expression of solidarity with their Palestinian colleagues.
The Red Cross, rescue workers, educators, students, artists, musicians, actors, archivists and anti-fascist associations have also been invited to join.
“Children and students in Gaza have not had even the most basic conditions for education for the third year in a row. Schools have been demolished, classrooms have been turned into shelters, and teachers and professors are in constant danger. The presence of educators at the protest is particularly important because they represent resistance to silence and oblivion,” the organizers said.
Youth as a symbol of resistance and solidarity
The organizers emphasize the importance of the participation of youth and students, who, as they state, “represent the continuity of the fight for justice and solidarity with their martyred peers in Gaza”.
“Their visibility at the protest shows that young people in Bosnia and Herzegovina clearly stand on the side of humanity and freedom, which is also the guarantor of our own freedom”, the statement states.
During the protest, citizens will be able to sign a petition for the fulfillment of the demands that will subsequently be submitted to the institutions of BiH.
The petition is also available online at: www.onlinepeticija.com/bosna_i_hercegovina_za_slobodnu_palestinu
The organizers emphasize that the protest will be peaceful and dignified, and invite citizens to bring banners and join the common voice of solidarity.
Protest program
13:00 – 13:30 Gathering at the Memorial to the Murdered Children of Besieged Sarajevo (1992–1995)
13:30 – 14:15 Protest walk along Maršala Tito and Zmaj od Bosne streets to Stage Park between the National Museum of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Historical Museum of Bosnia and Herzegovina
14:15 – 14:45 Addresses by the organizers, reading of demands and a short cultural and artistic program
14:45 – 15:00 Peaceful dispersal of participants
Protest demands
Respect for international law
Sanctions and termination of cooperation with Israel
Ban on participation of BiH citizens in Israeli military structures
Protection of the Palestinian people and urgent humanitarian support
Organizers say that the protest has no ethnic, religious or ideological context, but is intended as a forum for citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina in all their diversity, united in rejecting the normalization of genocide.
The Sarajevo Canton Primary Education Union invited educators to the “BiH for a Free Palestine” rally
Today, the Cantonal Board of the Independent Primary Education and Upbringing Union of the Sarajevo Canton also invited educators to attend the “Bosnia and Herzegovina for a Free Palestine” rally.
The Union says that solidarity with the Palestinian people is not a matter of politics, but of humanity.
“Every child deserves peace, security and the opportunity to learn, without exception. Our support is a message that the Palestinians are not alone and that their struggle for dignity and a life worth living should be echoed around the world,” the statement said.
The trade union emphasizes that the presence of educators is particularly important because “they represent resistance to silence and forgetting”, and calls on other trade unions in Sarajevo Canton to support the people of Palestine with their presence.
BH Journalists will participate in the protests on Sunday, October 12th in Sarajevo, and we invite journalists and other media workers to respond to our call and pay tribute to the journalists killed in the Gaza Strip with a protest walk.
Earlier, BH Journalists sent a letter to the most responsible persons in the Council of Ministers of BiH, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Transport and Communications, and to representatives of both houses of the Parliamentary Assembly of BiH with a request to publicly express their position and demand an end to the killing of journalists and other civilians, mainly women and children, and to ask the Israeli authorities to allow Western journalists access to Gaza and report on the war activities. The House of Representatives of the BiH Parliament responded to the letter of BH Journalists, and at the proposal of SDP representative Saša Magazinović, a Resolution on Gaza was adopted.
Source and photo: Berina Bahtanović / N1
