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World Review Commentary | ||
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Contents
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07-08-2001
FORECLOSURE YUGOSLAVIA Shortly before Tito's death in 1980 Yugoslavia had begun economic reforms taking on debt. These reforms under a succession of leaders started Yugoslavia on the wrong path. This change in direction coupled with the breakup of the Soviet Union resulted in the reduction of economic aid and trade received from the soviets, which forced Yugoslavia to seek loans to stabilize their economy. The lords of the Balkans viewed formally state owned industry as their future fiefdom. This combined with Lending Activities by The I.M.F, World Bank along with private banks, The London Club of Creditors and The Paris Club of Creditors resulted in a debt burden that quickly necessitated a dismantling of the welfare state and reduced subsidies to state supported industries. The payment of interest to service this foreign debt became paramount so economic support of domestic industry became secondary. This has been a de-stabilizing factor combined with the enrichment of leaders of the purchase of formally state owned industries at the expense of the state, which further exacerbated the situation. In the end neither industrial nor agricultural collective systems were efficient enough economic systems to maintain economic viability. Debt and the costs of civil war brought down the Yugoslavian economy and trying to service over a 12 billion dollar foreign debt placed a burden on Yugoslavia. Thus Yugoslavia's fortune's turned for the worst with the freezing of Serbian assets in June of 1998 making it difficult for the country to operate and pay its bills. The Stari Trg mine in Stari Trg, Kosovo is part of the Trepca Mining Complex. This complex was one of the few remaining assets the Serbs still controlled. It represented one of the few remaining cash cows they had. A ground war was waged against Yugoslavia and Kosovo to enable NATO to effective occupy and control Kosovo and with the war much of Yugoslavian infrastructure structure was destroyed necessitating future foreign loans for reconstruction. The ultimate possession of the Trepca Mining Complex some anticipated would guarantee repayment of part of the foreign debt the Serbs still owed. In August of 2000 NATO took over the Trepca Mining Complex. In addition foreign business interests have been buying up premium Yugoslavian assets for cents on the dollar so Foreclosure Yugoslavia is proceeding as planned. | |
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