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Army General Cancels Conference, Says He Can’t Speak Openly BELGRADE, June 12 (Reuters) - The commander of rump Yugoslavia's army cancelled a scheduled news conference in Belgrade on Wednesday, telling Serbian journalists that he could not speak openly. General Momcilo Perisic, instead of briefing reporters at the news conference traditionally held every year on army day, made some cryptic comments that hinted at dissatisfaction within the military. "Since professional soldiers in stormy times cannot say everything, and what I can is colourless, we did not organise a press conference," he told reporters. "It is better not to speak than to say something that is completely known, and what should be said and what would interest you would upset many." Political analysts said the last-minute cancellation of the news conference and Perisic's resigned tone were highly unusual in a country where officials tended to stick to prepared speeches. The state news agency Tanjug did not carry his comments, which coincided with negotiations on a Balkan arms control pact which would oblige rump Yugoslavia, comprising Serbia and Montenegro, to scrap a large number of tanks and other other military hardware. Belgrade analysts say morale is sagging among many army officers, who resent international efforts to counter Serb military power in the region and to send indicted Serbs for trial before a U.N. war crimes tribunal in The Hague. Some officers also complain that the state has concentrated its resources on the Serbian police force, which has been steadily built up into a heavily-armed organisation.

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