FOREIGN CURRENCY SAVERS TO BLOCK FOUR BOSNIAN STATE BORDER CROSSINGS

BANJA LUKA, Bosnia (December 26,2007) – Old foreign currency savers association of the Bosnian citizens and diaspora will organize protests and blockade of four Bosnian state border crossings on December 28. The following border crossings will be blocked: Izacic, Pavlovica most, Bijeljina and Bosanska Gradiska. Purpose of those activities is to draw attention to their problems.

President of the Association Svetozar Nisic stated at a press conference in Banja Luka that the blockade will begin at 1 p.m. on December 28,2007. They will give up the blockade only if their demand is fulfilled.

That demand is, as stated, that decision passed by the Bosnian Parliament’s House of Representatives is accepted. The decision was passed December 18 2006 and states that the old foreign currency savings will be fully paid in five years’ time or will be paid with five per cent interest rate.

He added that the demand can be fulfilled that that there is enough of money to make that happen. Nisic also stated that the old foreign currency savers agreed to alternative ways of compensation in material goods.

Nisic added after the emergency session of the Association’s Managing Board that if their conditions are not accepted, the old foreign currency savers will not give up, but will, immediately after the New Year enter all the banks in Bosnia and block them.

He called all old foreign currency savers and other Bosnian citizens to come to the border crossings and in that way draw attention of domestic and foreign public to “injustice that was made over the old foreign exchange savings clients and other citizens”.

Svetozar Nisic, among other, stated that the old foreign currency savers tried to reach the final solution to their problems with the Bosnian authorities. However, those efforts failed and now they are forced to block the state border crossings.

He again stated that the verification of old foreign exchange savings is “just another trick of the authorities”.

”We all know that 30 billion Bosnian Marks (22 billion US Dollars) was exported from the country in the period from 1988 to 1991. We have all documents necessary to prove that. That money still lies in some banks. We found out that 5 billion Bosnian Marks (3,7 billion US Dollars) is at the accounts of certain politicians”, Nisic said.

He added to have “contacted the Interpol in Prague. We were told that the Bosnian authorities need to conduct an investigation in order to announce the accounts of the people who keep those billions in other European banks, while citizens are starving here”.