Shorts

AIDS in Serbia

The only institution in Serbia that accepts advanced AIDS cases is the Clinic for Infectious and Tropical Diseases in Belgrade. The AIDS ward was formed when the first case was admitted, according to Dr. Branko Brmbolic, an infectious disease specialist. "The ward slowly expanded its operations. As the number of cases grew, we expanded from one isolation unit to a few and now have the entire ground floor", he said.

This year, 206 patients were hospitalized in the AIDS ward, the so-called VI ward, while 1500 were examined. The ward was operating at limited capacity because of construction work. There are currently about 20 patients in the ward. There are also outpatient services for less advanced cases. Brmbolic warned that public reports about the number of AIDS cases have exaggerated the potential dangers. The number of HIV-positive individuals capable of spreading the disease is much more dangerous. "According to World Health Organization statistics, the number of HIV-positive cases is at least ten times higher than the number of AIDS cases", adds Dr. Brmbolic.

December 1 is World AIDS Day. It is sad that there is an outcry against AIDS only on that day. There is no organized media campaign in Serbia and AIDS education is absent from our schools. There is no national source for information on AIDS. Everything revolves around treatment of individual cases. It is necessary to eliminate prejudices and fallacies about this disease. It is necessary for people to understand that AIDS cannot be transmitted through ordinary daily contact, even among members of the same household. It is not transmitted through shaking hands, working together, in swimming pools, through insect bites, or through the air.

Ivo Andric

The Croatian weekly "Nedeljna Dalmacija" has reported that Nobel Prize winner, writer Ivo Andric's house in Travnik (central Bosnia) officially does not exist anymore. The house that once had a sign explaining that Andric had spent part of his life living in it has now become the "Divan" club and the sign has been replaced by one in Arabic. No one in Travnik seems to regret Andric's disappearance, a result of the prevailing disappointment over the late writer's national declaration as a Serb.

Dinar (1)

Not every growth in production is a good one, according to Miroljub Labus during a promotion for the seventh issue of "Konjukturni barometar" (monthly review published by Institute of Economics in Belgrade). Namely, after its high rise in September, industrial production "overheated" in October of this year as well (the monthly rise on the federal level was 14%). October growth was mostly due to seasonal activities in the energy and food industries, and analysts are thereby forecasting that this year's annual industrial production could be 2.8% higher than last year's. But the rise in production did not lead to increased employment, and worst of all, it has provoked a hunger for hard currency. Experts believe that was a reason for October's rise in black market rates. Businessman are not as optimistic as they were only a month ago, citing the lack of foreign currency and import limitations as the main obstacles to the recovery of their firms. October brought an increase in new debts and unpaid old debts, but it is interesting that their fall is expected in the next three months. It is still unclear whether this is a consequence of the belief that the restrictive monetary policy imposed by the National Bank of Yugoslavia is not going to last.

Dinar (2)

The Federal government decided last Wednesday "to encourage the development of export production". Those firms that sell hard currency to the National Bank of Yugoslavia would "enjoy a special premium of 33% on the amount of sold foreign currency".

The Federal government has practically abandoned the single dinar rate policy and reverted to the decades-old practice of manipulating the national currency: today there are two or three different rates, tomorrow 20-30, which will soon result in countless different dinar rates and render the official rate meaningless. It is clear that different rates mean different privileges given by the government to obedient companies, instead of a single rate with the same conditions for everyone.

Besides abandoning its pursuit of a convertible dinar, with this specific devaluation the government has finally responded to the suggestions of many experts who say that we need a change in the official dinar rate in order to end the pressure on the country's money reserves, make export more attractive and import more expensive. Experts also recommend that with devaluation the central bank should defend the new dinar course in upcoming months, maintaining a single dinar of course, instead of plenty of "small dinars".

Elan

"The deal of the century" has clearly fallen through now that Albanian-American businessman Frank Kadriu failed to meet the 19-day deadline for the payment of the 70 million DEM necessary to purchase Slovenian ski-manufacturer "Elan" from its current Croatian owners. Wheeler-dealer Kadriu even forgot to pay his hotel bill in Opatija. This stimulated debates in Croatia about the political background of the sale and the dealings of "Privredna Banka Zagreb", where he was supposed to make payment. Doubts have now been cast about the bank that has been protected to date by the fact that it sold shares in a chain of Croatian department stores to the daughter of Croatian President Franjo Tudjman.