Croatia Cancels 10,000 ‘Suspicious’ War Vetrans Pensions

Croatia’s Veterans Ministry has without warning cancelled pension payments for 10,009 Croatian Army invalids after a crack down on widespread abuse of invalid veterans status.

The number of soldiers who participated in the independence war has long been the subject of controversy in Croatia, with many receiving benefits illegally with some not even taking part in the 1990’s war. Minister Predrag Matić made the move on Friday to ‘wipe’ the offenders from the register. Many have claimed in the past that a large number of veterans have either exaggerated or lied about their involvement in the war in order to obtain the material privileges provided by law for former war veterans.

“Most result from the so-called ‘Southern Front’ of the Croatian army. They are controversial, all registrations are identical to each other and everyone has said that the person was injured on the southern battlefield,” commented Minister Matic.