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Serbian PM Tells Deputy to Quit Over Spy Scandal March 18, 2002 4:21 pm EST By Andrew Gray BELGRADE (Reuters) - Serbian Prime Minister Zoran Djindjic on Monday told one of his deputy premiers to quit because of his role in a spy scandal which has rocked the country and sparked a row with the United States. Djindjic said he had asked Momcilo Perisic, army chief of staff during much of Slobodan Milosevic's rule, to step down following his dramatic arrest together with a U.S. diplomat last week on allegations he was passing military secrets. The swoop on the two men, which could have come straight from the pages of a spy thriller, has also become the focal point for the latest in a long line of battles within the reformist alliance which ousted Milosevic in October 2000. Djindjic said he believed the high-profile snatch by Yugoslav military police was designed to damage his government. His arch-rival, Yugoslav President Vojislav Kostunica, said he believed the operation was generally carried out correctly. Differences in both style and policy separate Kostunica, who describes himself as a moderate nationalist, and Djindjic, who cultivates a more pragmatic, pro-Western image. Washington said on Monday it had accepted an apology from Yugoslavia's foreign minister, a Djindjic ally, for the swoop. Neither Kostunica nor the military has offered any apology. Djindjic said the Serbian government had asked Perisic, who has insisted he is innocent, to quit so the justice system can get to the bottom of the whole affair without obstruction. As a minister, Perisic has immunity from criminal investigations. "I had a meeting with Mr. Perisic this afternoon and asked him to submit his resignation from the post of deputy prime minister," Djindjic told reporters. He said Perisic would give his response on Tuesday. Kostunica's party called on Monday for the prime minister himself to resign. But Djindjic made clear he believed Perisic alone could be held responsible for his actions. Perisic, U.S. embassy first secretary John David Neighbor and two other men in their company were arrested by plain clothes officers on Thursday evening after meeting at a restaurant by a motorway around 20 km south of Belgrade. Despite his diplomatic immunity, Neighbor was roughed up, interrogated and held for 17 hours, according to the U.S. embassy. Serbian officials said he also had a bag placed over his head. Perisic was held for an extra day. ANGRY PROTEST The incident sparked an angry protest from Washington, which said the arrest was unwarranted. It also enraged the Serbian government, which said it had not been informed in advance and accused military intelligence of being out of control. "This is insolence and we will not permit it," Djindjic said. "No one in this country will take it upon themselves to assess what the Serbian government should learn and when." Western analysts say the military, despite some cosmetic changes, remains largely unreformed from the days of Milosevic, the former president who played a central role in four Balkan wars and is now on trial at the U.N. war crimes tribunal. A State Department spokesman said Washington viewed the apology from Belgrade as "a public acknowledgment of the military's inappropriate and excessive actions." Serbia and much smaller Montenegro are the two republics which make up the present-day Yugoslav federation. Under a plan agreed under European Union pressure last week, they should soon form a looser union called simply "Serbia and Montenegro." Djindjic said his government had also asked for the resignation of Aco Tomic, the head of the Yugoslav army's military security department which carried out the arrests. But Tomic reports ultimately to Kostunica, who has responsibility for federal institutions such as the army. The president said the arrests had been carried out mostly in line with procedures and offered only mild criticism of some aspects. He said politicians should have been informed more quickly after the swoop and the identity of the diplomat should not have been released by a military court. He also said he would have been happier if Neighbor had been released more quickly. "We shall do everything to prevent this affair affecting bilateral relations between the United States and Yugoslavia in any way," the president told a news conference. __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Yahoo! Sports - live college hoops coverage http://sports.yahoo.com/ --------------------------- ANTI-NATO INFORMATION LIST ==^================================================================ This email was sent to: archive@jab.org EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?a84x2u.a9617B Or send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] T O P I C A -- Register now to manage your mail! http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/register ==^================================================================
