Sobering Reminder on Armed Forces Day
SARAJEVO, April 15 (Reuters) — Uncertain prospects for tens of thousands of demobilized soldiers cast a cloud over Armed Forces Day celebrations in Bosnia on Monday, four years after war caught the government by surprise and without an army. The rag-tag fighting force which first manned barricades against separatist Serbs in Sarajevo in April 1992 grew into a battle-hardened army which, with Croat allies and NATO air strikes, regained control over 51 per cent of Bosnia.
Bosnian President Alija Izetbegovic visited a military cemetery in Sarajevo on Monday and made clear the country owed its existence to the army. But the Dayton peace agreement which ended Bosnia's 43-month war late last year required a massive demobilization. Hordes of men have been shunted into a shattered civilian economy where jobs are scarce.
"At this moment for our country there is no more important task than to take care of these people," deputy defense minister Hasan Cengic said of demobilized soldiers in an interview with the Sarajevo daily Oslobodjenje. "State institutions are preoccupied with this problem and all possibilities are being studied."
Non-Cash Credits Issued
To reward soldiers for years of military service, virtually without pay, Bosnia's government on Monday began distributing bankbooks to veterans. With the bankbooks came a non-cash credit, denominated in German marks to protect against inflation and based on length of service. Those who fought throughout the war were scheduled to receive a credit of about 20,000 marks ($13,330).
Invalids and the families of those killed while serving will receive an extra amount. The credits can be used to pay water, electricity, telephone, rent for flats, taxes and customs duties to the government, Cengic said.
A crowd of about 250 demobilized men gathered at Army House in Sarajevo on Monday to receive the first bankbooks to be distributed under the scheme. "This is not a salary," Enver Hadzihasanovic, chief of staff of the Bosnian army, explained to those assembled. "Nobody could pay us to fight for our country or for the lives of soldiers who were killed."
Although demobilized soldiers are generally supportive of the bankbook, which along with preferential treatment for jobs and housing should make the transition from war to peace easier, all made it clear they would have liked cash instead.
If No Jobs, War's Return Likely
Carl Bildt, the international community's High Representative for Bosnia, has warned repeatedly that failure to provide jobs and a social safety net for demobilized soldiers could steer the country back towards war. An international conference to secure funding for the reconstruction of Bosnia held in Brussels over the weekend brought to $1.8 billion the amount pledged for the first year.But only a few tens of millions have flowed into the region and more is needed to fund labor-intensive public works projects such as road, bridge, housing and utility repair and construction necessary to jump-start the Bosnian economy.
Berserkistan is a world news service of Michael Linder Productions, Inc.
©1995-1996, All Rights Reserved
