"The maneuvers are a normal action in an abnormal situation. The manner in which NATO came to Kosovo is not normal but it is normal for every army to hold exercises. I am afraid, however, that these maneuvers can be transformed from their basic purpose of training, into a response to the inconsistent statements of certain army leaders who are not thinking with their own heads but only transmitting the statements of their mentors and who have been saying that the Yugoslav Army will return to Kosovo," stated Perisic yesterday.
According to his assessment, if the state leadership does not begin to resolve problems in the forthcoming period, NATO may expand its actions east of the Kosovo border into the Vardar-Morava valley.
Commenting on the election of Stipe Mesic for the president of Croatia, Perisic assessed that, if the new Croatian president keeps his promise regarding the return of displaced Serbs, this may greatly help the citizens of Serbia to lose their fear of a change in the government.
"If ever there was a dictatorship, it was in Croatia during the Tudman period; despite this, the elections there passed without incident," added the MDS leader.
When asked to comment on speculation regarding the naming of Army chief General Dragoljub Ojdanic to the position of the Federal Defense Minister, Perisic said that in order to realize this possibility it would be necessary to change the Constitution.
Bishop Artemije assessed that "the presence of the Serbs in the transitional administration does not represent evidence of any type of collaboration with respect to anything which is against the interests of the Serb people; on the contrary, it is valuable to have the needs of this people and its problems heard even more."
According to Bishop Artemije, the Serb National Council of Kosovska Mitrovica has a different opinion with respect to this than Serb representatives from other parts of Kosovo because "they feel secure since they are leaning on Serbia and able to communicate with her more easily". The bishop added that "without contact with the international community, survival in Kosovo is an impossibility because they are the only ones in Kosovo who have authority and who are able to help us."
"There are always those to whom Serb unity is disagreeable, who are attempting to divide up even the small part of the Serb soul that remains in Kosovo. These are the people sitting in comfortable apartments in Belgrade and the Kopaonik Mt., and sending their emissaries to scheme among our people in Kosovo. I am afraid that these conflicts, too, which have recently been renewed, do not have roots here and that they are not only a product of Kosovo," he explained.
Bishop Artemije emphasized that he "believes that the meeting of the leaders of the democratic opposition on February 16 organized by the Alliance for Changes will show the strong support of the opposition for the Kosmet Serbs", but does not expect anything spectacular because "decisions regarding Kosovo, unfortunately, do not depend upon the opposition".
"The support of the democratic opposition is very important to us because we believe that only a democratic Serbia can protect and retain Kosovo," he added.
The bishop of Raska-Prizren participated in the work of the Interfaith Council of BH on February 8 in Sarajevo, together with mufti Rexhep Boja, president of the Islamic Community of Kosovo, and monsignor Marko Sopija, the [Catholic] bishop of Prizren.
The representatives of the three religious communities in Kosovo signed a common declaration in which "in mutual acceptance of religious differences, [they] condemn every form of violence against innocent people and every form of usurpation and violation of human rights".