War is not decided on by soldiers
General Momcilo Periûic, Chief of General Staff of the
Yugoslav Army:
General Momcilo Periûic, Chief of General Staff of the
Yugoslav Army, is a commander about whom only a little is
known to the general public. Those who do know him well, know
that he is prudent and courageous, a man of high morals,
somebody who inspires deep respect. General Periûic is a
strategist, a military leader and above all, a patriot,
humanist and intellectual. We can see in him all the features
which had adorned famous Serbian warriors and military
leaders throughout our history. He graduated from the
Military Academy first and the General Staff School and the
National Defense School subsequently. In the meanwhile, he
won a bachelor's degree in psychology. He has occupied almost
all command posts in his military career so far. He was
appointed to the post of Chief of General Staff of the
Yugoslav Army on 26 August 1993, by the decision of the
Supreme Council of Defense. He is the youngest-ever Chief of
General Staff of the Yugoslav Army.
TUMULTUOUS TIMES
QUESTION: Mr.Periûic, ever since your appointment as Chief of
General Staff, there have been rumours about your dismissal,
and some media have swooped down on you. Who is bothered by
General Periûic? Who wants to have you dismissed and why?
I'm being attacked in the media by the people who are
probably acting under the influence of those who would want
to bring the military into a position of inferiority, and
through me, they are attacking the military as an
institution, wishing for it not to serve exclusively to the
interests of the state, the people, the society as a whole,
but to the interests of some individuals. I'm not sure that
those who want me to be dismissed from this post know our
people's situation. It is quite another matter whether they
are the people who are prepared to sacrifice themselves,
their amenities, for the sake of their people's defense.
Another thing, it seems that the wish to come to power at any
cost is so strong that the assistance of influential factors
is accepted non-critically. In that context, knowing that the
military is the basic factor of the state and stability in
these tumultuous times, they want to destabilize the military
by attacking me and get it to work towards their own aims.
QUESTION: How much influence do America and Germany have in
all this?
The ongoing conflicts in the territory of the former SFR of
Yugoslavia reflect the interests of the big powers, including
America, which is a big power indeed, and Germany which wants
to become one. However, not only the interests of these two
powers are involved. Also Turkey, as well as other European
countries, have their interests in this region. They are not
even trying to cover them up. On the basis of the moves made
on the international scene, you can identify them easily. We
are appraising the mechanisms and possible scenarios for the
implementation of such interests, and we are accordingly
taking action towards maintaining the security of the Federal
Republic of Yugoslavia.
GREEN TRANSVERSAL
QUESTION: Mr.Periûic, is that the reason why a unitarian
Bosnia would suit either side?
Yes, of course. A unitarian Bosnia would suit the both,
although the Germans and Americans alike have their own
separate strategic interests, which explains why they are in
a manner of speaking so ruthless to the Serbian people.
QUESTION: I think that the reasons of the Americans are
somewhat different. Namely, that they want to facilitate the
creation of a Muslim state with the aid of a unitarian
Bosnia.
Many people don't understand why the Americans are helping
the Muslims in Bosnia. They are doing so for two main
reasons. First, they want to ingratiate themselves with the
Islamic states, from which they are getting many economic
benefits, by standing up for Islam in Europe. Second, they
want to create any Muslim state which could serve as a
"regulator" for the situation in Europe, with a view to
destabilizing Europe in line with their strategic interests
and current appraisals.
QUESTION: And what is the interest of the Serbian people?
The Serbian people are interested in retaining as much as
possible of the territory which has belonged to them for
centuries, protecting the population and rounding off their
own state, as well as in seeing that all other peoples living
in the territory of the former Yugoslavia create their own
states in their own ethnic lands, so that the controversies
the other civilized countries have dealt with in the 18th and
19th centuries could be dealt with now.
QUESTION: Zagreb is openly helping the Croats in Bosnia.
According to some sources, the Muslims are obtaining weaponry
from the Americans and Islamic countries. The Muslim
offensive has been launched. Do you think that the Serbs can
resist the attacks launched by the Muslim-Croat federation
with the resources at their disposal and the morale they
have, can they defend themselves and their territory?
The Serbs in this region are supported by no country in the
world like the Muslims and Croats are supported. They are in
a very, very difficult position. However, in the history of
wars, no people were ever defeated if they were resolutely
struggling for survival. The Serbs have demonstrated in the
course of history that they have always been fighting against
stronger enemies and taking their fate in their own hands.
The Serbs never wanted to seize something belonging to other
people; they were always defending their own possessions
only. Unfortunately, the Serbs are now completely isolated
and they are in a more difficult situation than ever before.
They are now resolute, ready to fight for their territorial
integrity and their bare existence. In military and
organizational terms, the Serbs are capable of defending
their ethnic territory using the resources at their disposal
even without outside help.
QUESTION: We often hear assertions that Yugoslavia's state
policy is geared to peace. Does that mean that the Serbs from
the other side of the Drina don't want peace or is a
misunderstanding involved?
The people of the Serb Republic and the FR of Yugoslavia have
not been divided. I think that the leaderships of the Serbian
people will find ways and means of settling the political
differences. Professional soldiers have realized that the
intention of the foreign factor is to provoke a conflict
between the political leaderships, and through that conflict,
also a conflict on the military side. That's a wrong
assumption.
QUESTION: Mr.Periûic, in the event of large scale clashes in
the territory of the Serb Republic, would the FR of
Yugoslavia give military support?
In my capacity of Chief of General Staff of the Yugoslav
Army, and under the Constitution, it is my duty to defend
with the Yugoslav Army the territorial integrity, sovereignty
and freedom of the citizens of the FR of Yugoslavia, and any
involvement of members of the Yugoslav Army outside the
territory of the FR of Yugoslavia is a matter to be decided
on by the present state.
SITUATION IN THE REPUBLIC OF SERB KRAJINA
QUESTION: What do you think about the situation in the
Republic of Serb Krajina and the efforts being made towards
reintegrating Krajina into the Republic of Croatia?
Croatia has had a historic opportunity to set up, with the
aid of the foreign factor and through its secession, a
democratic state of the civil type in which also the Serbs
would be a constituent nation under the Constitution of the
Republic of Croatia. However, since Croatia was dazzled by
nationalist interests which border on Fascism, the Serbs were
accorded no rights. They stood up for their vital interests
and they didn't want to be pulled out of the former
Yugoslavia forcibly and live in an Ustashi-run state which
has been exterminating them for centuries. In any case, like
any other people, the Serbs, too, have the right to
self-determination.
QUESTION: What developments do you anticipate in the
territory of the former Yugoslavia?
IIn pursuing their aims, America and Germany will try to
achieve such aims in the territory of the former Yugoslavia
also by resorting to the strategy of low intensity war, step
by step. They will try to avoid a higher intensity war since
in that case, there would be a danger of many other countries
being involved. In the event of many countries being
involved, it would not be possible to control that war and
the conflict could acquire large proportions. Being aware of
this, they are provoking internal contradictions to the
extent they can keep under control and channel towards the
achievement of their aims. The creators of the "new world
order" want to go further east and if the Serbian people
stand in their way, they will circumvent that people
temporarily because of their strong resistance, but they will
never give up their aims in this region. They will have
prepared by then also new scenarios for settling the Balkan
issues. The achievement of their aims will depend among other
things, also on the conduct and resistance of the Serbian
people as a whole and their leaders. Many leaders in the
entities formed in the territory of the SFR of Yugoslavia are
not world policy makers, but implementers of the
international policy aims instead.
QUESTION: Can you be more specific?
There is no need for that. All of them are recognizable.
After all, also the attacks on the Yugoslav Army are being
launched with that objective in mind.
I think that sanctions will be lifted sooner or later and
that the FR of Yugoslavia will open up to the world. As in
the past, the interests in the Balkans will remain unchanged
mostly. The Serbian and Montenegrin people will certainly
remain in this region regardless of the existing difficulties
and losses, and the FR of Yugoslavia will be able to define
its interests and pick the friends and countries with which
it will cooperate, taking also in account the conduct of
others while the FR of Yugoslavia was kept in isolation
unfairly.
QUESTION: Mr.Periûic, what do you think about the recent
recognition of Alija Izetbegovic's Government, i.e., Bosnia,
by Russia? Is that indicative of a weakness of Russia's
official politics or of something else?
That is the Russian diplomats' current appraisal of Russia's
interests in the Balkans.
QUESTION: Was that a good opportunity for the Serbs to learn
that there is no love in politics and that we must be more
pragmatic?
The Serbs are what they are and their history is more painful
than that of any other Balkan nation. They haven't learned
much from their history. We belong to a people with a soul, a
heart and who are remarkably well-intentioned. We have a
heart because in the event of any hazard, with arms in our
hands, we are capable of defeating a far stronger enemy; we
have a soul because we are supporting in our own territory
the children and parents of our blood enemies; and we are
very unpragmatic because we tend to trust everybody, and
among other things, we are also always on the defensive. It
is because of these properties of ours that we have been
repeatedly experiencing similar things in our history, which
shows that to a certain extent, we deserve our existing
situation.
QUESTION: All aggressors adhere to a certain extent to the
"divide and rule" principle. It is being traded on the
provoking of international conflicts. What do you think of
the security situation in the FR of Yugoslavia and
particularly in Kosovo and Metohija?
Kosovo and Metohija make up a special phenomenon in which
keen interest is being shown by the creators of the "new
world order". They were planning for the first spark of
secessionism to be ignited in Kosovo and Metohija precisely,
but their plan misfired. The Albanian people living in the FR
of Yugoslavia are fully aware of how much better off they are
in economic and other senses than their patriots in their
parent country, so that they can hardly be pushed into their
own disaster. Even so, it is not unlikely that if the FR of
Yugoslavia fails to behave in line with the international
political factor's strategy, Kosovo and Metohija could become
a hotbed of crisis. The obstruction to that are actually the
interests of the Albanians living in Kosovo and Metohija, who
have not allowed themselves to be manipulated so far. Thanks
to the extremist leaderships and outside influence, the
province Kosovo and Metohija is a latent crisis hotbed which
could be activated in a complex situation. The districts of
Raûka and Polimlje are also covered by different spheres of
interest. The Muslim territorial claims in Bosnia are geared
to the joining of the Gora`de enclave with Raûka and
Polimlje, which is becoming all the more evident. The Gora`de
enclave is the stronghold of the Muslim factor and its wish
for the Muslim state under foundation in Bosnia to expand and
be connected by the green transversal with Albania, via
Gora`de and the Raûka and Polimlje districts. It can be
concluded that Turkey would like to establish a link with
Alija Izetbegovic's state, through Albania as its partner and
collaborator and, of course, the Muslims living in the Raûka
and Polimlje districts. Should that happen, it would mean a
disaster for Europe and Serbian people in particular, because
the physical link between the Montenegrin and Serbian people
would be severed in that case, which would lead to the
disintegration of the FR of Yugoslavia.
HOW TO AVOID WAR
QUESTION: Mr.Periûic, can we save our country, our freedom,
and avoid fighting, and can we say that we have a strong
united army?
You are asking me, as a soldier, a general, whether war can
be avoided? If everybody shared not only my views, but also
those of generals, normal generals of all countries of the
world, there would be far less wars, because a professional
soldier knows best what war means, which goes even more for a
general. If there were no politicians who wish to achieve
certain aims through wars, generals would be less warrior
generals. This is corroborated among others also by Pentagon
whose representatives said on more than one occasion that the
crisis in Yugoslavia cannot be settled by a war. Moreover,
they even restrained some of their "hawk" politicians,
assuring them that such an objective cannot be achieved by
martial methods. However, as professional soldiers, my
associates and I are aware of the hazards and developments,
hazards to our people. We will do our utmost towards
preventing a war from breaking out, and we have done a lot so
far, assisted also by others of course, towards preventing
the war from spilling over into the FR of Yugoslavia. I think
that we are one of the few countries that have managed to
prevent a war in their neighbourhood from spilling over into
them. I think that it would be possible to prevent the war
from spilling over into our country if other relevant factors
share this reasoning. In the event of a war being imposed
onto us, my associates and I, as well as all commissioned and
non-commissioned officers, professional soldiers, conscripts
and patriots who will join our ranks even without being
called up, will defend the integrity and sovereignty of our
country. The Yugoslav Army is our country's backbone. Now, in
time of peace, it is 100,000-strong and it represents the
core of our people's future million-strong army. With such
potential manpower, the Yugoslav Army will be able to protect
our country's territorial integrity and sovereignty. If we
close our ranks, we will be able to defend our country
successfully. If we allow the "hawks" and ignoramuses to
disrupt our people's unity, to achieve their own aims and to
be in the service of war lords, sacrificing a part of their
own people in the process, then our total defence capability
would be that much smaller.
QUESTION: Are you satisfied with the transformation of the
military?
The transformation of the Yugoslav Army has been completed in
the sense of organization and formation, while its
modernization is dependent on the country's economic
capacity. There are also some other segments undergoing
transformation. The depoliticization of the Army has been
carried out completely. However, some advocates of
depoliticization of the military now want to be in a position
to exert some influence on the military, especially in sphere
of staff policy. We are opposed to that, which is often the
cause of attacks on us.
QUESTION: Who is in charge of staff policy in the military?
The Constitution and the Yugoslav Army Law provide accurately
who is in charge of staff in various grades and responsible
for their promotion. The Chief of General Staff is in charge
of staff policy up to the rank of colonel. The appointment
and dismissal of general officers is the responsibility of
the Supreme Council of Defense.
QUESTION: Are you satisfied with the current staff policy?
Instead of answering that question, I would ask whether I'm
satisfied with the staff structure.
We can never be completely satisfied with the staff
situation. However, only the best available, verified staff
have been assigned to key positions in the General Staff and
put in charge of the operative/strategic groups. Nobody has a
life mandate for any function, everything is susceptible to
changes.
GENERALS' MISTAKES
QUESTION: Mr.Periûic, how important is it for a man in your
position, who bears such a great responsibility, to be able
to anticipate developments, to see more and further than
others and not to be blindly obedient?
IIt is very important that key posts are assigned to
remarkably capable persons, who besides other characteristics
expected of good officers, must also be highly intelligent
and capable of anticipating developments. Only such men are
capable of leading their soldiers and their people to victory
even in the most difficult situations, by making proper
decisions. If they are not like that, they tend to make bad
decisions and thus lead people to disaster. Unfortunately, we
have had many bad examples in our history and in the latest
war. I have promised to myself not to speak about the people
from this war precisely because many of them were not up to
their posts and duties, because they were blindly obedient
persons who just awaited orders from somebody above,
sacrificing thus the dignity of the people they were in
charge of. They sacrificed the dignity of their people and
their own dignity. Therefore, the most important requirements
of any officer include the following ones: ability to use
their own heads, ability to sublime collective sense into
decisions, and perseverance and persistence in the
implementation of the decisions made, working exclusively in
the best interests of their people and their country.
QUESTION: Some media have criticized you for the operations
you launched in Zadar and Mostar. When some people want to
speak against General Periûic, they refer to Zadar and
Mostar.
We are talking here about the people who in the first place
don't know or don't want to know the situation in which our
sons were in Zadar. This is spoken by people who don't
realize what the most lethal part of the population of the
Republic of Croatia, which is quite rightly referred to as
Ustashe, has done towards driving us out of Zadar as quickly
as possible. When the war broke out in 1991, I was serving in
Zadar as the commanding officer of the Artillery Training
Centre there. The Croats were probably instructed by foreign
parties to get rid of the Yugoslav People's Army and they
made large scale assaults on its members, using hardened
murderers and other criminals released from their own and
foreign prisons for such purposes. As the commanding officer
with a long experience in command posts, with combat systems
and with several thousand reliable men, I could not allow the
terrorists to kill my soldiers, so I took action in line with
the degree of hazard, towards saving the lives and honour of
my soldiers and my people as a whole. I responded amicably to
all provocations and strained situations, and tried to find
ways and means of settling the crisis peaceably. However,
since that turned out to be impossible and they moved to
liquidate us physically, we quite naturally responded
physically, using all weapons at our disposal, for the
purpose of saving our lives. I managed to get my soldiers,
weaponry and other equipment out of Zadar.
QUESTION: What happened in ^apljina?
When the war broke out in Bosnia, I was in the region of
Mostar. I took maximum care of the civilian population in my
zone of responsibility. Like in Zadar, there were no
casualties. The cooperation with the Muslims in my zone of
responsibility was a very good one. We were giving them
material and other kinds of assistance. Our clashes were with
the Croatian units which were transferred to Bosnia at that
time. This means that regular Croatian army units were in the
territory of the SFR of Yugoslavia, since Bosnia was still a
part of the former Yugoslavia then. They accused us then of
being an occupying force. There was no logic in that
accusation, because the Yugoslav People's Army was then the
sole legitimate and recognized armed force in all areas other
than Slovenia and Croatia. Therefore, the conflict began when
the Croatian units blew up a tank truck full of explosives
near our barracks, demolishing a big part of the latter in
the process. Eleven civilians and only one member of the
Yugoslav People's Army died. In that case, too, I was accused
of causing various destructions. What was actually involved,
was the destruction of military targets and targets used for
launching attacks on my soldiers and Serbian population. It
would be worth to mention on this occasion the rescuing of
the surrounded soldiers and civilians in the municipality of
^apljina and subsequently from the ^apljina barracks which
were surrounded by about 4,000 members of HOS, the regular
Croatian army, and where they were in the danger of being
killed. When I took over the command of the Bileca Corps, I
took on also about 270 people who were captured or gathered
in ^apljina by HOS. They were Serbs, Croats and Muslims. I
took action towards having these people released peaceably,
but that didn't work, so that we launched a combined
offensive in the course of which all members of the Yugoslav
People's Army, as well as the civilians surrounded by the HOS
units, were rescued without a single casualty. We moved
people to an area under our control and inflicted heavy
losses to the Croat side. It took us 15 days to prepare this
offensive and we carried out in only half an hour. We rescued
all people and there were no wounded or killed on our side.
We inflicted heavy losses to the other side, and these losses
were admitted and announced on the Croatian television. Be it
as it may, had Pero Markovic, the then town mayor, taken my
advice, all this would have been settled peaceably. All of
these people who were surrounded by the Croats know that
General Periûic sent them a message saying that he will
rescue them at any cost and they can testify that I have kept
my word. It was a remarkably successful military operation
planned by my associates collectively and it was carried out
so brilliantly, that I believe that it will be studied by our
young officers in the future.
QUESTION: Did you receive orders after this operation to
return to the FR of Yugoslavia?
Following the ^apljina operation, I was ordered by the
General Staff (on 25 April 1992) to return to the FR of
Yugoslavia. I didn't want to do that because the people of
Herzegovina were not organized for fighting the enemy and
they were in a very big danger. In anticipation of
developments, I stayed there until 28 May, by which time I
had made the people of Herzegovina fully fit for defending
themselves. For the sake of truth and an objective insight
into our history, I drew up a record of facts, which was
signed by my successor and myself. It is still in my
possession. I'm saying this because many of those who are
attacking the Yugoslav Army, as well as myself, are trying to
shift the developments into some other periods of time.
QUESTION: Andric said: "There are times when sensible people
fall silent, fools began to speak out and scoundrels become
rich". You came out of the war virtually with a dictaphone in
your possession. What do you think about the war profiteers?
In this war, most men under my command, as well as under the
command of others, who even without asking for reasons, went
to the western parts of the then SFR of Yugoslavia for the
purpose of defending Yugoslavia, fared the worst. Far from
their homes, they had to fight the enemy and in doing so,
most of us lost our tangible possessions. The only
possessions many of them were left with were what they had on
them. When I came out of this war, my most valuable
possessions were a watch and a dictaphone and I'm happy not
only for myself, but because I've shared the lot of the men
under my command. Unfortunately, I'm still sharing their lot
even now, while then and even now, some people are getting
rich on Serbian blood here and there, far behind the front
lines, presenting themselves even as heroes, which shows how
much the system of values has been disrupted. I was fully
aware of the responsibility involved when I assumed this
duty. I know that by accepting this duty I have shortened my
soldier's life, that I'm in for no tangible gains and that my
only satisfaction is in preventing that which has been or is
being prepared for my people from being done. Of course, that
calls for some kind of asceticism and I'm often referred to
as an ascetic. Be it as it may, in such historic times, true
professional soldiers, as well as high officials, must behave
as ascetics. I assumed this duty fully consciously. It
astonished me to learn that there are people who had come to
the head of the system in the most difficult times, and
instead of helping their people, they are turning the
calamity of the latter in gains for themselves.
LEISURE TIME
QUESTION: A personal question. What do you do in your leisure
time?
I have less and less leisure time. I used to read 3-4 books a
month on average, that is to say, a couple of thousand pages.
Sadly enough, I'm now able to read just one book monthly. I'm
very fond of books. I used to own several thousand books, and
none when I came out of the war. However, thanks to my
friends who know how much I like books, I have renewed my
library, so that now I have several hundred of them.
QUESTION: What are you reading now?
I'm reading Antihumanism by Emil Vlaiki at present, as well
as professional literature, of course.
QUESTION: Mr.Periûic, how important is affection in your
life?
Remarkably important. Affection for man in the first place.
I'm a man who has opted for a military career out of love for
man and I'm performing this duty precisely out of love for my
people. Affection for man and affection for one's country,
though a country with people, not a country without them.
QUESTION: What is the foreign factor's objective in this
region?
The foreign factor's objective was to break up the SFR of
Yugoslavia at it was largely successful in that. The
objective the foreign factor has set for itself in the
territory of the former Yugoslavia still remains and it is
the same in the territory of the present FR of Yugoslavia. In
order to achieve such objective, they are making use,
according to a scenario, mostly the local people who because
of their lacking patriotism or ignorance are putting
themselves in the position of implementers of the aims of our
people's enemies.
QUESTION: What would the FR of Yugoslavia look like according
to that scenario for making us what others want us to be?
Since there are many scenario makers outside and inside, who
would want to be big in small places, it is quite certain
that they would tear up this tormented country into many
feudal states which they would want to rule exclusively. Many
internal factors, which are not only in the service of the
foreign ones, want to achieve their aims under the guise of
democracy in order to set up a country which will not be
viable in the existing surroundings or which will be
completely dependent on the foreign factor. Since I am one of
my people and a professional soldier, and because my main
task and that of the institution to which I belong relates to
the defense of my country's sovereignty and integrity, I will
do my utmost towards making sure that the Yugoslav Army
performs its constitutional duty.