War veterans' requests granted, hunger strike stopped

VALJEVO - Following an agreement reached with Minister of Labour, Veteran and Social Affairs Aleksandar Vulin, the representatives of several associations of veterans of the 1990s wars on Tuesday stopped a hunger strike that lasted for days.

Under the agreement, a law on the rights of war veterans and the wartime and peacetime disabled must be adopted by the end of this year, with social insurance to be provided to all of them.

The issue of outstanding wages for war service, which the veterans want paid, will be assessed by a task force at Vulin's ministry, said the participants of a meeting at the Valjevo Veterans' Association, where the veterans' strike had been underway since late September.

In a statement to reporters, Vulin said that the agreement was reached thanks to the understanding shown by the veterans for the situation the country is in, which is also due to floods.

A new law on protection of veterans and disabled persons will clearly define the rights of war veterans, the peacetime disabled and the families of fallen soldiers for the first time, with the state's liabilities in health insurance and mandatory medical treatment to be specified as well, he said.

Ljubomir Bradic, president of the Valjevo War Veterans' Association, said that the veterans stopped the strike after resolving all misunderstandings in a very open conversation with Minister Vulin.

The requests of the veterans have been granted, but the proposal for payment of wages for war service - to be drawn up by the task force of the Ministry of Labour, Veteran and Social Affairs - remains to be seen, Bradic said.

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