President Ivo Josipovic, when asked by the press on Monday whether it was true that a dozen generals were receiving dual pensions from the Croatian Army and the Bosnian Croat Defence Council (HVO) for the same war effort, said that "it is not a matter of the military but of the pension system", but that it was unjust.
"I expect this injustice to be rectified because everyone can receive only one pension," Josipovic told reporters in Karlovac after a reception given by local Serb Orthodox clergy for Christmas, which the Serb Orthodox Church celebrates according to the old Julian calendar.
According to media reports, General Ljubo Cesic Rojs and about ten other generals have been receiving their pensions for years from both Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina. The two countries' ministers of veterans' affairs will investigate how it was possible for them to be awarded ranks and privileged pensions in the two separate armed forces.
When asked if it was true that an audit had found a difference of one million kuna spent on his presidential campaign, Josipovic said that the difference was actually 500,000 kuna and that his party, the Social Democratic Party (SDP), had taken out a loan to pay off the cost. "The difference arose because bills came in later on, but they were reported the moment they came in," he explained.
