SARAJEVO, Nov 6 (Hina) - The international community's High Representative to Bosnia-Herzegovina has accused the Bosnian Serb entity government of attempting to undermine the financial and political stability of the whole country by
planning to increase salaries and pensions by 20 percent as of next month.
SARAJEVO, Nov 6 (Hina) - The international community's High
Representative to Bosnia-Herzegovina has accused the Bosnian Serb
entity government of attempting to undermine the financial and
political stability of the whole country by planning to increase
salaries and pensions by 20 percent as of next month. #L#
The Bosnian Serb government simply does not have the money for that
and if they do what they intend to, both Bosnian entities as well as
the country as a whole will go bankrupt, Paddy Ashdown told an
extraordinary news conference in Sarajevo.
His deputy Donald Hays said the announced increase was in effect an
attempt to breach the stand-by arrangement and other deals with the
International Monetary Fund (IMF).
Breach of said arrangement will automatically stop the influx of
IMF money -- EUR35 million by the end of this year alone and a
minimum EUR100 million next year. The funds will be denied to the
governments of both entities (Serb republic, Croat-Muslim
federation) as well as to the Bosnian government since breach of a
financial agreement in one part of the country cannot be viewed
separately.
Ashdown said he was fully aware of the motives of the Bosnian Serb
authorities as well as of the difficult position of workers and
pensioners. He added, however, that this could not be changed by
baseless decisions but through economic reforms, which he said
required time.
Ashdown said that if the Bosnian Serb government went through with
the increase, he would not hesitate to exert his powers.
(hina) ha