Belgrade - The announcement of the arrest of five men alleged to be part of a French-run conspiracy to kill President Milosevic was a "staged show", a former chief of staff of the Yugoslav army said yesterday. "There is more staging of a show than reality" in these claims, Mr Momcilo Perisic told journalists at a press conference in Belgrade.
"It is a new farce by the regime aimed for internal consumption," according to Mr Perisic, who was sacked in November 1998 for criticising Mr Milosevic's policies. "Those who are capable of provoking four wars, leading to the deaths of men and the destruction of goods, celebrating all this as a victory and distributing decorations all around - such men will stage any kind of show to distract the population from cruel realities," Mr Perisic said.