Bosnian PM Says Better Living Standard Will Resolve Crisis

Bosnian Prime Minister Vjekoslav Bevanda (file photo)

Bosnian Prime Minister Vjekoslav Bevanda said improving people's living standards is the only solution to the recent unrest in Bosnia-Herzegovina.

Bevanda on February 24 called the unrest a "local fire" that can be put out "very quickly" if the government takes action to raise living standards.

Bevanda was speaking at an economic forum aimed at boosting investment levels in the western Balkans that was hosted by the London-based European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.

Earlier this month, Bosnia saw a series of mass protests and, in some cases, riots against the chronic corruption and unemployment that has plagued the country since the end of its 1992-95 ethnic war.

The unemployment rate in the country is more than 40 percent.

Based on reporting by AFP and Reuters