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Protesters storm Yugoslav parliament, demand resignation

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Protesters have stormed parliament in Belgrade and claim they control the building  

October 5, 2000
Web posted at: 11:53 AM EDT (1553 GMT)


In this story:

Opposition 'ultimatum' to Milosevic

'Bloodbath' warning

RELATED STORIES icon


BELGRADE, Yugoslavia -- Protesters have broken through riot police cordons and entered the Yugoslav parliament building, opposition leaders said.

Police and protesters clashed on the steps of the parliament for a second time on Thursday.

Tens of thousands of people have gathered in the center of the capital demanding the resignation of Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic.

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The doors of parliament were pelted with stones in the second attempt to enter the building and police fired tear gas into the crowd for the second time on Thursday sending hundreds of people scattering.

Journalists at the scene are reporting that at least five injured protesters are lying on the steps of parliament. One policeman caught by the crowd was beaten.

The pro-Milosevic state television said in a commentary: "At this moment, terror rules in Belgrade."

One police car near the parliament was smashed.

The rally began after Yugoslavia's constitutional court said the disputed presidential elections lost by Milosevic on September 24 would have to be repeated.

The court earlier annulled part of the elections which Milosevic's opponents insist was won outright by his rival Vojislav Kostunica.

With the opposition expecting more than 200,000 people at the rally -- planned as the climax of a civil disobedience campaign sweeping Serbia since Monday -- supporters from several towns pushed through police cordons to make their way into Belgrade.

Determined to reach the capital to vent their anger at what they see as the theft of an opposition election victory, a column of vehicles from Cacak pushed aside trucks positioned by police in two places to block a highway to the capital.

Riot police backed up by water cannon blocked a convoy of 20 buses and 150 cars from the southern town of Nis, an opposition stronghold.

But the vehicles were later allowed through after opposition leaders spoke to the police.

Opposition supporters are due to come from Vranje, Leskovac, Subotica, Nis, Kikinda, Zrenjanin, Pancevo, Uzice, Cacak, Loznica, Sabac -- all towns where there have been strong protests against the official presidential election results.

The Yugoslav election commission has said Kostunica failed to win the 50 percent of the September 24 election needed for outright victory.

The constitutional court had said it would later explain in depth what its decision to order new elections meant, but the opposition said it would go ahead with its rally anyway in front of the parliament building.

The constitutional court ruling -- by judges loyal to the president -- could be geared to allow Milosevic to stay in power longer, his opponents say, as his term does not expire until the middle of next year, leaving him free to set a new election date any time before then.

Milosevic's government conceded that Kostunica gained more votes than Milosevic, but said that he failed to win the majority legally required for outright victory.

Opposition 'ultimatum' to Milosevic

Opposition leaders issued an "ultimatum" for Milosevic to resign by 3 p.m. Thursday (1300 GMT) -- the time set for the Belgrade rally, but Milosevic had still not responded when the deadline passed.

They did not make clear what would happen if he refused, but called people from all over the country to gather for the rally to show the extent of public opposition to what they called "massive election fraud."

"This flame will engulf the whole of Belgrade," said Vladan Batic, an opposition leader.

The deadline was announced as workers at Serbia's biggest coal mine complex on Wednesday stepped to the front rank of the country-wide rebellion against Milosevic, defying police trying to break a strike that has already been blamed for power cuts.

The Kolubara miners sat tight on the sixth day of their strike on Thursday, defying police who have taken over part of their strategic plant.

"We are not afraid, we have to keep up," strike committee member Zoran Cvetanovic told Reuters in the mine some 60 km (45 miles) south of Belgrade.

The miners decided to stay in the pits rather than join the Belgrade demonstration. "We want to keep our workers in the pits, we do not want them to go to Belgrade, because we must persist in our demands and defend ourselves," Cvetanovic said.

Strikes by workers from a range of industries have been growing throughout the week.

Bank workers, nurses and doctors were among the latest to protest and state post and telecommunications workers called a two-hour warning strike and threatened to extend it unless the "real" results of the presidential vote were issued by the end of the day, Beta news agency said.

On Thursday journalists from Milosevic's main media mouthpieces joined in by walking off the job.

'Bloodbath' warning

In an open letter to Milosevic prior to the court's ruling, Kostunica said "it will be better for you to recognize" electoral defeat or risk "the danger of open clashes" nationwide.

Branko Iiic, a leader of the popular Belgrade student group Otpor (Resistance), said: "If he doesn't want to step down in peace, there will be a bloodbath."

International efforts were being mounted on Thursday to solve the political stalemate peacefully with Russian President Vladimir Putin renewing his offer to mediate in the crisis.

Speaking to reporters in Bombay on the final day of a visit to India, he said Russia would adjust its position as details emerged of a Yugoslav court decision.

"We would like the dramatic events in Yugoslavia, our friend, to end with a close to the crisis and the lifting of sanctions," Putin said.

"We are prepared to work with the international community and with the sides in Yugoslavia to achieve that goal. My offer still stands."

On Monday Putin had invited President Slobodan Milosevic and opposition candidate Vojislav Kostunica to talks in Moscow.

Kostunica said he could not leave Yugoslavia because of the crisis there, and Milosevic did not reply.

Representatives from western governments and Russia are due to meet in London on Friday to formulate a unified approach to Yugoslavia.

The "contact group" members; France, Britain, Italy, Germany and the U.S. have confirmed they will be represented and Russia has been invited.



RELATED STORIES:
Annulment 'buys time' for Milosevic, says opposition
October 5, 2000
Anti-Milosevic strikes hit Yugoslavia
October 2, 2000
Milosevic TV appeal dismissed as an 'act of panic'
October 2, 2000

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