War volunteers to be reintegrated

The caretaker government announced on Wednesday that more than 10,000 "military and paramilitary" volunteers who took part in the country's recent armed forces' uprising, would be fully integrated into the military, Lusa reported on Thursday. A communique was released by Finance Minister Abubacar Dhaba who said that the soldiers' formal enlistment would significantly increase the number of people on the state payroll, Lusa reported. As a result, he said, the introduction of a planned 300 percent rise in the minimum wage had been postponed. The decision was announced hours after hundreds of youths in uniform blocked traffic in Bissau on Wednesday demanding overdue salaries. The protest ended after Dhaba promised to give priority to the payment of salaries for members of the armed forces and police. Most of the protestors enlisted after the June 1998 rebellion against former president Nino Vieira who was finally overthrown by a self-styled Military Junta some 11 months later.