NBS chief: Pro-European govt. crucial

Warning: Entering the twilight zone...

Jelsic should be totally ignored. This man represents a schizophrenic political party (G17 Plus) that on one hand purports to seek an independent central bank, but on the other hand insists that one of its own political officials serves as the bank governor.

An official statement posted on the G17 Plus Web site says: "The National Bank of Serbia must remain independent of politics" Here's a link to the original text:
http://www.g17plus.org.yu/pretraga.php?misc=search&subaction=showfull&id=1163126973&archive=&cnshow=news&ucat=3&start_from=&

The hypocrisy is now more blatant than ever with G17 Plus using the bank governor's post to try to improperly influence post-electoral political talks.

In another B92 article today, we also see the G17 attempting to blackmail the Socialist Party of Serbia into breaking its pledge to form a Belgrade coalition government with the Radicals and Kostunica's party by threatening to veto Socialist participation in a national government!

Such wanna-be "economists" can only be called professionals in sarcastic reference to the payback they can expect get for handing over control of the Serbian economy to the oligarchs behind the IMF and the World Bank.

Jelasic in particular is no stranger to ethical issues. He claims that he bought his private mansion in Belgrade's exclusive Dedinje neighborhood (Remember? That's where Milosevic's Presidential villa was...) for a fraction of its real market value. Read about it in Wikipedia or in the original Serbian here:
http://arhiva.kurir-info.co.yu/Arhiva/2005/jun/09/V-03-09062005.shtml

So here we have a totally politicized "independent" national bank governor who got an unexplained 1-million dollar discount on his house trying to lecture people on how to attract foreign investment?!

I can suggest a better way to convince foreign investors that their money will be safe in Serbia: Jelasic, please lock yourself in jail and throw us the key!

Having this man run the national bank is the closest thing I have ever seen to letting a lunatic run the asylum.

Incredulously yours,

John Bosnitch
Washington, DC
john.b@imcnews.com

Warning: Entering the twilight zone...

Jelsic should be totally ignored. This man represents a schizophrenic political party (G17 Plus) that on one hand purports to seek an independent central bank, but on the other hand insists that one of its own political officials serves as the bank governor.

An official statement posted on the G17 Plus Web site says: "The National Bank of Serbia must remain independent of politics" Here's a link to the original text:
http://www.g17plus.org.yu/pretraga.php?misc=search&subaction=showfull&id=1163126973&archive=&cnshow=news&ucat=3&start_from=&

The hypocrisy is now more blatant than ever with G17 Plus using the bank governor's post to try to improperly influence post-electoral political talks.

In another B92 article today, we also see the G17 attempting to blackmail the Socialist Party of Serbia into breaking its pledge to form a Belgrade coalition government with the Radicals and Kostunica's party by threatening to veto Socialist participation in a national government!

Such wanna-be "economists" can only be called professionals in sarcastic reference to the payback they can expect get for handing over control of the Serbian economy to the oligarchs behind the IMF and the World Bank.

Jelasic in particular is no stranger to ethical issues. He claims that he bought his private mansion in Belgrade's exclusive Dedinje neighborhood (Remember? That's where Milosevic's Presidential villa was...) for a fraction of its real market value. Read about it in Wikipedia or in the original Serbian here:
http://arhiva.kurir-info.co.yu/Arhiva/2005/jun/09/V-03-09062005.shtml

So here we have a totally politicized "independent" national bank governor who got an unexplained 1-million dollar discount on his house trying to lecture people on how to attract foreign investment?!

I can suggest a better way to convince foreign investors that their money will be safe in Serbia: Jelasic, please lock yourself in jail and throw us the key!

Having this man run the national bank is the closest thing I have ever seen to letting a lunatic run the asylum.

Incredulously yours,

John Bosnitch
Washington, DC
john.b@imcnews.com