MORE CRITICISIM OF GOVERNMENT'S RESTRICTIVE MEASURES

ZAGREB, Aug 24 (Hina) - The government's measures of revision of social entitlements will cause more harm than good and their enforcement cannot save enough money to fill a two billion kuna (approx. $238 million) hole in the budget, according to the opposition's Democratic Centre (DC). Of all the measures that have been announced, the DC supports only the reduction of privileged pensions, DC vice president Vesna Skare-Ozbolt told Hina on Friday, adding the rest referred to the most endangered strata of society. According to DC president Mate Granic, the restriction measures are part of an agreement between the government and the International Monetary Fund which has not yet been either discussed or ratified in parliament. Any government measures detrimental to war veterans prove veterans mean nothing to the government, said Ivica Perkovic, chairman of the head committee of the HVIDR-a, an association of disabled war veterans, commenting on the government's proposal that only veterans with a 50 percent or more disability would be entitled to benefits. He hopes parliament will have more understanding for veterans than the government "which hasn't brought us anything good anyway." Perkovic said veterans would certainly react and not sit with their hands crossed. He will warn MPs of the problems Croatia will face if parliament okays the government's measures. Representatives of the Croatian Society of Political Prisoners and the Alliance of Antifascist Fighters of Croatia were unavailable for comment. (hina) ha sb