se times
23/11/2010
Thousands who lost funds during the country's break-up are trying to get them back.
By Jusuf Ramadanovic for Southeast European Times in Sarajevo -- 23/11/10
Thousands who lost funds during the country's break-up are trying to get them back.
By Jusuf Ramadanovic for Southeast European Times in Sarajevo -- 23/11/10
Banja Luka resident Svetozar Nisic, 77, went to work in Germany in 1963. Like many thousands from the former Yugoslavia who worked abroad, he deposited his savings in Yugoslav banks only to lose them when the country broke up.
"Thousands of honest, hard-working people labouring at difficult jobs tried to save, hoping they will enjoy their savings at an old age. Many of those people are now penniless, some are even homeless," Nisic told SETimes.
Prior to the break-up, the Yugoslav government issued a law restricting foreign currency bank withdrawals. Depositors could withdraw foreign currency only for specific reasons -- such as to address serious health issues -- but as the conflict began, many found it impossible to withdraw funds for any reason.
Today, Nisic is president of the Citizens' Association to Reclaim the Old Foreign Currency Savings in BiH and the Diaspora; it has about 17,500 members.
Depositors blame post-war authorities, whom they describe as "criminal groups of war profiteers", for the loss of their savings.
Nisic claims the association has evidence that a small group of officials used the money to buy property in expensive tourist destinations abroad such as the Kuril Islands or Cyprus, and founded large companies.
According to the depositors, the officials appropriated their savings via privatisation vouchers in the Federation of BiH (FBiH) and by direct takeover in Republika Srpska.
Even today, they say, authorities are trying to persuade them that reclaiming the savings is a hopeless cause.
Instead, depositors have been encouraged to register the lost savings with the government in order to periodically receive a small, unspecified amount back at 0.5% interest.
"Most of the debt is paid out in bonds," explained Nisic, "which is just paper, and, as a matter of rule, easily devaluated".
Depositors who receive bonds can use them at the Republika Srpska and FBiH stock exchanges. These institutions, they say, were established by the same officials that usurped their savings in the first place.
Payment delays in the FBiH prompted depositors to pursue legal action at home and then at the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) in 2009, alleging violation of the right to private property.
In response, BiH's government established a representative office before the ECHR.
The ECHR issued a pilot verdict in November 2009 in the case of Suljagic vs. BiH. It ruled that BiH violated the petitioner's rights by delaying implementation of the local law governing this matter.
The Court said non-payment is a systematic problem in the whole of BiH and ordered the government to ensure that all outstanding payments are made within six months of the final verdict.
BiH's Representative Office head Monika Mijic said that there were 1,350 legal cases on behalf of 13,500 depositors. BiH has compensated depositors to the tune of 1.15m euros.
"All bonds have now been issued per the Court's verdict and ... [the entity governments are] now regularly handling cash payments pursuant to the country's legislation." Mijic said.
Following the Suljagic verdict, "all other similar suits were dismissed by the ECHR on the same basis," she said.
"Thousands of honest, hard-working people labouring at difficult jobs tried to save, hoping they will enjoy their savings at an old age. Many of those people are now penniless, some are even homeless," Nisic told SETimes.
Prior to the break-up, the Yugoslav government issued a law restricting foreign currency bank withdrawals. Depositors could withdraw foreign currency only for specific reasons -- such as to address serious health issues -- but as the conflict began, many found it impossible to withdraw funds for any reason.
Today, Nisic is president of the Citizens' Association to Reclaim the Old Foreign Currency Savings in BiH and the Diaspora; it has about 17,500 members.
Depositors blame post-war authorities, whom they describe as "criminal groups of war profiteers", for the loss of their savings.
Nisic claims the association has evidence that a small group of officials used the money to buy property in expensive tourist destinations abroad such as the Kuril Islands or Cyprus, and founded large companies.
According to the depositors, the officials appropriated their savings via privatisation vouchers in the Federation of BiH (FBiH) and by direct takeover in Republika Srpska.
Even today, they say, authorities are trying to persuade them that reclaiming the savings is a hopeless cause.
Instead, depositors have been encouraged to register the lost savings with the government in order to periodically receive a small, unspecified amount back at 0.5% interest.
"Most of the debt is paid out in bonds," explained Nisic, "which is just paper, and, as a matter of rule, easily devaluated".
Depositors who receive bonds can use them at the Republika Srpska and FBiH stock exchanges. These institutions, they say, were established by the same officials that usurped their savings in the first place.
Payment delays in the FBiH prompted depositors to pursue legal action at home and then at the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) in 2009, alleging violation of the right to private property.
In response, BiH's government established a representative office before the ECHR.
The ECHR issued a pilot verdict in November 2009 in the case of Suljagic vs. BiH. It ruled that BiH violated the petitioner's rights by delaying implementation of the local law governing this matter.
The Court said non-payment is a systematic problem in the whole of BiH and ordered the government to ensure that all outstanding payments are made within six months of the final verdict.
BiH's Representative Office head Monika Mijic said that there were 1,350 legal cases on behalf of 13,500 depositors. BiH has compensated depositors to the tune of 1.15m euros.
"All bonds have now been issued per the Court's verdict and ... [the entity governments are] now regularly handling cash payments pursuant to the country's legislation." Mijic said.
Following the Suljagic verdict, "all other similar suits were dismissed by the ECHR on the same basis," she said.
The Office is currently dealing with a major case against BiH involving foreign currency deposits at branches of Slovenia's Ljubljanska Banka and Serbia's Invest Banka, which once operated throughout Yugoslavia.
This case eventually might be resolved through an agreement on succession among the former Yugoslav republics, though no one is holding his or her breath.
In 2001, representatives of the former Yugoslav republics signed an international agreement together with the OHR head at the time, Wolfgang Petritch. In it, the signatories pledged to "protect and return the old savings of citizens of BiH".
Nisic says the OHR has failed to meet its obligation thus far.
This content was commissioned for SETimes.com.
This case eventually might be resolved through an agreement on succession among the former Yugoslav republics, though no one is holding his or her breath.
In 2001, representatives of the former Yugoslav republics signed an international agreement together with the OHR head at the time, Wolfgang Petritch. In it, the signatories pledged to "protect and return the old savings of citizens of BiH".
Nisic says the OHR has failed to meet its obligation thus far.
This content was commissioned for SETimes.com.
read more; se times
Δεν υπάρχουν σχόλια:
Δημοσίευση σχολίου