veterans threaten institutions, political parties

Kosovo Liberation Army veterans give ultimatums to the leaders of institutions and political parties that if they do not receive their salaries by Friday, they will not go out to vote in these elections, which will be held Sunday and threaten even with the pre-Kover protest body.

Thus has the chairman of the Association of War Veterans of the Kosovo Liberation Army, Hysni Gucati, who stressed that the veterans have not received pensions for three months now. Gucati said veterans are in serious financial situation, because their last salary has been 52 euros in August.

He in an interview for KosovoPress asked the Government and Parliament to vote on the budget as soon as possible to get out of the financial crisis that former freedom soldiers have.

“If salaries do not come up by Friday, fears and the account should keep political parties for their votes, because there are veterans who will not vote at all because of the grief they have not received salaries for three months. Even I'm not obliged to go out and tell the veterans out get the political subjects or your favorite candidate because they're right to the veterans to get angry in this regard. I had appealed to the Parliament and the Government ministers to release the tools as soon as possible and as soon as possible, not force us to get to the streets”, Gucati said.

In fact, Gucati has asked the government to at least apologize to veterans for these prolonged delays, and, as he said, the veterans come up with their skin as if MPs and government officials were left without pay.

It is good that the Government of Kosovo apologises to veterans for the delay it has made for veterans' salaries. I had asked the prime minister and MPs a question, what would it mean for them to stop their wages just for a month, and what would have happened in their homes? ... It had been good for the prime minister to halt all MPs' salaries a month and see what it means to have a month's pay-free day left. The package, which veterans 170 euros receive, does not even cover expenses for two people, because it leaves five-long members of the family with”, he has said.

Gucatti has added that he has also met Parliament Speaker Kadri Veseli and has asked him as soon as he comes to the Parliament the budget review bill 2017, because one day veterans will be brought to a close of patience and will not be able to wait that long. He also talked about organizing the protests, because according to Gucati, they won't stand to rely on the wall.

I've always said that the road I don't like, but when we rely on the wall, it's supposed to be preferable. I, it's true, I didn't support the last protest a week ago, I don't deny it, and I won't support it, because war veterans have organizations, they have leadership, they have heads and they have Judges, so we make decisions about the situation. However, the day will come when we call on KLA veterans to go out and protest in front of the Kosovo parliament, maybe we will block the entrance of MPs if they don't vote on the bill. We ask them to vote as soon as possible, and to release the tools to veterans, because they haven't received salaries for three months, and there are those who don't have the money to take an injection for their children or her. They're also sick. Individually organised protests and never supported them in life”, he stressed.

Gucati has said that wages will be taken retroactively for the remaining debt. About 32,000 war veterans today enjoy pensions, and the government with the budget review bill has earmarked 26m euros by the end of this year./I. Shaban/