>-No-one's letting Milo off either. But the claim that the bombing hasn't
>-had a profound effect on the Yugoslav economy and Serbian social welfare
>-and health, well, I can't begin to see how you'd defend that, Nathan.
>
>It had its effects but the economy was already in the crapper by the time
>the war started. One of the reasons that Milosevic could not sustain the
>war and was driven from power was because discontent over the economy was
>already so extreme. It is a complete rewriting of history to attribute even
>a significant percentage of the economic problems of Serbia to the Kosovo
>war.
The Yugoslav economy was already in bad shape _long_ before the NATO bombings, and it has become even worse in post-Milosevic Yugoslavia:
***** Agence France Presse October 5, 2001 Friday SECTION: International News HEADLINE: First anniversary of Milosevic's ouster marred by economic woes BYLINE: ALEXANDRA NIKSIC DATELINE: BELGRADE, Oct 5
A year after the popular uprising that ousted Yugoslav president Slobodan Milosevic, the reformers who succeeded him face rising anger among impoverished workers impatient with the lack of improvement in their daily lives.
A convoy of more than 100 trucks and buses took the road from the central Serbian town of Cacak on Friday -- the same they had taken last October to Belgrade for a mass protest against Milosevic -- to mark the first anniversary of the ouster.
"This day should not be forgotten," Milun Kuzmanovic, one of the organisers, told radio B92, but warned that the authorities "are being closely watched." "This day marks the date when one regime has fallen, but it is also a warning to the new authorities," Kuzmanovic said, leading the convoy headed by a dredge which had been parked in front of the federal parliament last year as the first sign of the unprecedented popular uprising.
On October 6, 2000, as thousands of people stormed the streets of Belgrade, Milosevic admitted election defeat and said he was stepping down as head of the troubled Yugoslav state after 13 years of iron rule.
The past 12 months without Milosevic have been marked by several international successes -- Yugoslavia's re-admission to international institutions and the lifting of UN sanctions -- but the moves have had only limited effects on economic growth.
The government risks running into serious economic and social problems despite winning international financial support, including pledges of 1.27 billion dollars for 2001-04 at a donor conference in Brussels in June.
But the international reconstruction aid came at a price. The reformist authorities had to impose tough new economic laws and taxes -- non-existent during Milosevic's time in a bid to curb social tensions -- prompting an increase in prices and financial hardship for the population.
Salaries are among the lowest in Europe at an average of 80 euros (73 dollars) a month while the cost of living has increased by more than 50 percent.
The Yugoslav dinar is stable and inflation is relatively low in Serbian terms with estimates it will reach close to 40 percent by the end of 2001, down from 70 percent in 2000.
Recent strikes at Telekom Serbia and labour tensions at Kragujevac, 120 kilometres (70 miles) from Belgrade, where privatisation of the Zastava auto factory has brought 8,000 job losses, herald worse to come, analysts believe.
Last week, thousands of miners in the biggest coal mine in Serbia, Kolubara, launched a strike demanding salary increases. They were soon joined by hundreds of others from several mines, forcing the government to bow to their demands.
But Serbian Prime Minister Zoran Djindjic dismissed the "ultimatums" set by miners, who were a key catalyst in Milosevic's downfall when they launched a strike the day before the former strongman acknowledged his defeat.
"The time chosen for the strike shows that it is a political and not a social one," Djindjic said.
So far, the government has managed to find a common language with strikers from other companies and sectors, striking a balance between workers' demands and its own cash-strapped budget.
"Our government has a clear plan, ideas and projects for reforms, since there is no alternative," Djindjic said, insisting that there "are limits for workers' demands."
Independent analyst Vladimir Goati admitted that "the economic situation in the country might be worse than last year, but there are more freedoms."
"This is something we can not neglect ... but we can not just jump over from problems to better future," Goati said. *****
Yoshie