Belgrade-war veterans' fund increased
In a State Which Denies Having Been at War
***INCREASED FUNDS FOR WAR VETERANS
The competent ministry of the Federal Government has prepared a draft law according to which 200 million dinars will be earmarked for war veterans and families of those killed in the 1991-1995 war. Their exact number is unknown since the Government refuses to supply this figure. New beneficiaries are equalized with the veterans of the World War II. On the basis of the explanation it obvious that mostly men with lower qualifications have responded to the callup. Legal regulations will also include those killed during their army service.
AIM BELGRADE, October 3, 1997
The Yugoslav Government has prepared a project of legal provisions according to which funds earmarked for war veterans and families of those killed in the war will increase during the following year by 200 million dinars. This information caused certain surprise of the public as it was expected that outlays for the mentioned purposes to gradually decrease on account of the reduced number of beneficiaries, as well as of relatives of the war victims who are beneficiaries of family allowances. The number of the former is falling for biological reasons since they are of advanced age now, and the number of the latter is smaller as in the meantime they have acquired skills so that they could earn for their own living. Namely, children of the war veterans are now middle-aged people.
What caused the surprise was the explanation according to which funds are intended for victims, i.e. participants in the war which occurred after the disintegration of the SFRY. Still, there remains a question where did the war victims come from in a state which constantly points out that it had never taken part in it. That is why the Yugoslav authorities for so long turned a blind eye to the fact that many of its citizens lost their lives during the last war and left behind their families unable to provide resources for their essential daily needs. Apart from them, there are many war invalids who have lost a limb and are therefore also unable to earn a living.
However, this problem could not have been avoided for long because this category of citizens started to openly express its dissatisfaction. First in frequent articles in the press, and then by protests in front of the state institutions. They gathered on several occasions in front of the building of the Government of Serbia demanding a that their material and other hardships be alleviated. Only after such protests, which showed that the problem could not be simply "swept under the carpet", was the Federal Government entrusted with a task of finding a durable solution for these people whose exact number is unknown, while the competent ministry refuses to give it under the excuse that it would be inopportune.
Such restraint on the part of the Ministry for Labour, Health and Social Welfare can only be explained by the fact that the official state authorities are trying to hide how many citizens of this state, which was not officially at war, took part in it. This figure could be calculated by adding together the number of invalids and family members of those killed, so that the state avoided providing the data on the number of beneficiaries according to this right which shall be established by the law.
Everyone whom the past war had affected in some way, in other words, invalids or children left without one or both parents, have been equalized with the same category of beneficiaries from World War II. It is therefore even less possible to determine their exact number. It is only known that the amount which was till now allocated for these purposes will be increased by 200 million dinars, and the state has to find these resources in its 1998 budget. Both the invalids and family members of the killed in 1991-1995 war received certain financial assistance till now, but it was far from sufficient for covering even the basic needs.
The new law, which is under preparation, envisages more adequate resolution of the social and financial problems of this category of citizens in order to not only avoid the embarrassment of having the people who went to war with the conviction that they were defending their state, fight for their rights by protesting in the streets, but also to show the public that the state can appreciate such a sacrifice and that it is ready to partly compensate them for their losses by increasing their allowances. This was done for the sake of future generations which, drawing a lesson from the experiences of the last war, will not value patriotism much nor have understanding for the need to participate in the defence of the state.
The benefits war invalids and members of the killed veterans have been receiving so far will be increased by 60 percent. Also, the category of persons eligible for material compensation on the basis of rights to be granted by the prepared bill, will be broadened. Thus, children with one living parent, as well as invalids capable of work and with less grave bodily injuries but with lower education will be eligible for these allowances. Also, included are one-parent children who are insufficiently provided for because of the parent's low qualifications.
These "details" reveal another dimension which points to the structure of population which took part in the war. These are mostly less educated people who were more easily manipulated, and many were involved because they did not know where and what they were getting themselves into or were unable to avoid the mobilization as those from wealthier families or better educated strata did. It is common knowledge that after the callup, instead of putting on their army uniforms, thousands of young men fled abroad. For many years their return to the country was linked with the possibility of their being criminally charged as draft-evaders, so that the Yugoslav Parliament was forced to adopt the Law on Amnesty whereby the runaways were relieved of responsibility for their action. Still, this measure was not sufficient for all of them to return, so that many remained abroad. They changed their war exile for economic emigration.
That they were right is proved by the example of those who went to the war, were killed and left behind unprovided for families or suffered serious bodily injuries because of which they are now unable to take care either of themselves or of their closest ones. The state, which was willing to take them to the war theatre so quickly, showed impermissible slackness in resolving their basic problems. Many have become beggars, and there were even cases of suicide. Even those who returned from the battlefield alive and in good health found themselves in the street because in the meantime they have lost their jobs, although they were taken to the war practically from work places.
Despite the fact that the competent ministry thinks that it has found a way of resolving the problem of financial compensation for war invalids and families of the killed, beneficiaries of these allowances are not yet sure how will this government proposal fare in Federal Parliament under whose jurisdiction is the adoption of the proposed draft law. Although it is not expected for the parliamentary procedure to take long, in view of the sensitivity of the issue at hand which is being resolved with the mentioned regulation, there is some uncertainty on account of the fact that the Yugoslav Parliament meets very rarely. In nine months of its existence in the present convocation it met only once in regular session, and five times in extraordinary sittings. However, extraordinary sessions dealt with complicated and controversial election of Slobodan Milosevic for President of Yugoslavia so that as much as two extraordinary session were held daily.
Despite the difficulties with which invalids and other war victims are faced, it highly unlikely that any of them are so naive to believe that the Federal Parliament would meet in an extraordinary session and as a matter of urgency just to adopt a law which would fairly well resolve their material position.
Ratomir Petkovic (AIM)