Perisic said Thursday that his removal was the work of a regime that could not stand ''people who have their own opinions and think with their own heads''. In a written statement to the Serbian media, he said he still stood ''at the service of my army and my people''. Only the independent media carried the statement. Milorad Vucelic, a leading moderate in Milosevic's Socialist party, was removed as a member of Serbian parliament on Nov. 10. The weaker the state, the stronger the police.
Strong states have strong armies''.
Well informed military sources told IPS that Perisic drew renewed government hostility when opposed the deeper army involvement in Kosovo this year. Perisic was kept aboard for some time only because he signed the military part of a Kosovo ceasefire deal with NATO, outlining arrangements for the verification of police and military pullback from the province,'' said a senior western diplomat. But Perisic and Milosevic have been at odds since 1993, when he took over as chief of staff of an army that was increasingly sidelined by the growth of the paramilitary police. He has consistently opposed efforts to involve his troops in Milosevic's attempts to pin down popular opposition. It is the army of the people, not the army of one party,'' he said at the time.