SARAJEVO, Dec 18 (Hina) - Some arterial roads in Bosnia's Croat-Muslim entity, including three crossings on the border with Croatia, were again blockaded for three hours on Wednesday by members of associations of disabled war veterans
and volunteers while the capital Sarajevo was paralysed for almost two hours due to a protest rally staged by the workers of several companies which are facing bankruptcy.
SARAJEVO, Dec 18 (Hina) - Some arterial roads in Bosnia's Croat-
Muslim entity, including three crossings on the border with
Croatia, were again blockaded for three hours on Wednesday by
members of associations of disabled war veterans and volunteers
while the capital Sarajevo was paralysed for almost two hours due to
a protest rally staged by the workers of several companies which are
facing bankruptcy. #L#
Local protesters in the southern part of the country (Herzegovina
region) and members of their families held roads under blockade
from 10.00 am to 01.00 pm today for the third consecutive day,
demanding the payment of pensions and disability allowances. The
competent ministry in the Federation's government has refused to
earmark funds for this purpose until it receives comprehensive
lists of budgetary beneficiaries. Minister Suada Hadzovic has
already requested the financial police to check available lists and
see whether there were dual beneficiaries. Such allegations have
been rebutted by the authorities of the Croat-populated cantons.
The solution of the dispute is not in the offing, and the Office of
the international High Representative (OHR) is backing efforts by
the federal ministry to organise a comprehensive data base on
assistance funds which are allocated to war veterans and invalids
and the families of killed soldiers.
Croat war veterans have announced protest rallies on a massive
scale as of tomorrow, including round-the-clock road blockades.
At the same time, the authorities in Sarajevo have to address
problems of the economy in recession.
After strikes in Tuzla and Bihac, workers of the factories which are
likely to undergo the process of liquidation took to the streets in
Sarajevo.
Several hundred employees of the textile factory "Alhos", the
Sarajevo dairy, and the meat-processing plant "Simes" blockaded
major cross-roads in Sarajevo for two hours today.
The first wave of bankruptcy procedures is expected as of the start
of next year.
In that process, at least 70,000 workers in the Serb entity will be
laid off, and a majority of factories in the Federation will be
closed down.
The current unemployment rate in Bosnia is a high 40 percent.
High Representative Paddy Ashdown on Tuesday warned deputies to the
Bosnian state parliament that the country would face an economic
disaster if they failed to immediately undertake necessary reforms
aimed at attracting foreign investors and enhancing exports.
(hina) ms