(Podgorica, 23 May 2012) – It is clear to us pensioners that we belong in the Citizens’ Front and that we will support with our presence all of the activities that they are organizing.
As pensioners we know that this government and regime give no consideration to our situation and the increasing poverty we face.
The continuous increases in fees, price hikes and the cost of living are placing a growing number of us in a state of hunger and bare survival.
We suspect that the government is seeking to increasingly impoverish Montenegro’s citizens so as to be able to buy their vote at an even cheaper rate.
This has been the practice of the actual government and its leader – who has been the main strategist behind stolen elections, the plunder of social property and divisions in Montenegro – for the past 20 years.
Pensioners know that there is no freedom or justice while Montenegro is ruled by MIlo Djukanovic’s tycoon-led, para-state network. There can be no freedom or justice, let alone a normal life or considerations for ordinary pensioners under such conditions.
A government and regime that continues to plunder and condemn to ever deeper debt slavery the state and its people isn’t their friend! This can be seen if we consider the latest information on pension receipts by elderly recipients.
More than 6000 pensioners receive less than €100 a month, while more than 30,000 receive less than €180. Over 64,000 pensioner receive less than €280. On the other hand we have 180 colleagues – chiefly former public functionaries – that have been privileged by this government and that receive over €2,000 a month in pension benefits. As a result of this inflation at the top, the government can claim that the overall average pensions in the state stand at €280, which as seen is far from the reality.
We call on all pensioners to come out to the streets tomorrow! Do not let their lies or the rain stop you! We will not abandon our earlier demands and we will continue to articulate them through our own protests and through the growing citizens’ front. We call for an across the board increase in pensions, to index pensions to the growth of earnings, to ensure that the average pension in no way should fall below 65% of the average salary in the state and that the state should subsidize the cost of utilities for pensioners that receive less than €180 (which is below the poverty line).
Vojo Vuletić
President, Association for the Protection of Pensioners Member,
Citizens’ Front of Montenegro
