WAR VETERANS' MINISTER ANNOUNCES REVIEW OF DISABILITY BENEFITS

ZAGREB, Aug 28 (Hina) - War Veterans' Minister Ivica Pancic on Tuesday announced a review of all certificates for entitlements earned by participation in the Homeland Defence War. The linear reduction of certain allocations means nothing, Pancic said after a meeting at which representatives of veterans' associations acquainted him and Deputy Prime Minister Goran Granic with their remarks on a government draft of social restriction measures. Pancic reminded his ministry had demanded a review of veterans' disability benefits more than a year ago, but that some institutions had turned a deaf ear. The review can be done only with the full support of veterans' associations and utmost engagement on the part of the interior and defence ministries and the Croatian Pension Insurance Bureau, said Pancic. He added saving made this way would far exceed that envisaged by the government's measures. "The government has to decide if it wants to just scrape the surface or venture into a genuine reform," said the minister. He added the government's package of restriction measures needed fine-tuning, especially with regard to veterans' entitlements, including the determination of degrees of disability. Pancic said there would probably remain ten categories of the disabled, although there would be changes in the allocation of funds, especially for low degree disability. Veterans' representative Djuro Decak was content it was agreed veterans' experts would participate in the drafting of bills referring to veterans' rights. He said veterans' associations objected to solutions which saw veterans at the receiving end of bearing the burden of the imbalance between public spending and budgetary revenue. "We continue to be open to the government as partners but we do not accept the policy of the fait accompli," said Decak. (hina) ha