Bosnia agrees not to cut veterans’ benefits

Veterans in wheelchairs and on crutches and the widows and children of slain soldiers protested Thursday in Sarajevo, forcing the government to abandon plans to cut their benefits 10 percent.

Thousands had gathered in front of the government building to demand that the officials inside decrease their own salaries instead of saving at the expense of those who had lost family members or limbs during the 1992-95 Bosnian war.

After negotiating with protesters, finance minister Vjekoslav Bevanda announced that war veterans and the families of fallen soldiers will be excluded from the government’s budget package.

Before the announcement, the anger of the crowd escalated when some protesters clashed with police. One policeman and one protester were slightly injured and several of the government building’s windows were broken by stones thrown from the crowd.

The International Monetary Fund has demanded spending cuts in return for a euro1.2 billion loan aimed at helping the Bosniak-Croat government cope with the global economic crisis. Bevanda said IMF representatives agreed to the deal with the war veterans.