An anti-army banner during a protest in which thousands of residents gathered to denounce the recent buildup of Yugoslav troops in Cetinje IMAGE GALLERY A cracked window to a war To the corners of the world: The flight of Kosovo's refugees  ALSO: NATO points to Yugoslav dissent, downplays reports of its own Kosovar refugees head across U.S.  MESSAGE BOARD: Crisis in Kosovo

May 21, 1999
Web posted at: 3:07 p.m. EDT (1907 GMT)

CETINJE, Montenegro (CNN) -- Thousands of people protested a Yugoslav army clampdown in Montenegro's historic city of Cetinje on Friday, the largest anti-military display to date in Yugoslavia's smaller republic.

Yugoslav troops have reinforced Cetinje, about 30 kilometers (19 miles) southwest of the Montenegrin capital Podgorica. Cetinje has been a haven for draft resisters since Yugoslavia stepped up military conscription after the start of NATO's air war March 24.

Montenegro's pro-Western government has tried to remain neutral in the conflict between Yugoslavia and the West. Montenegrin President Milo Djukanovic has been sharply critical of Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic. The republic has also been a haven for displaced ethnic Albanians and dissidents from Serbia, the federation's dominant republic.

Friday's demonstrations brought about 5,000 people onto the streets of Cetinje, carrying banners with slogans such as "Milosevic, get your hands off Montenegro" and "We will give our life for this town."

"We must ask ourselves why those (soldiers) walk around our city -- and with what intentions -- while their homes are being destroyed, and their families are in dark shelters," protester Mirko Dapcevic said, referring to NATO's eight-plus weeks of aerial bombardment. "

Yugoslav soldiers avoided the rally. Djukanovic said earlier this week that as many as 45,000 federal troops may be in Montenegro.

Local officials said more than 1,200 Serb reservists, backed by artillery and tanks, arrived this week. Mayor Savo Paraca said Cetinje was effectively under siege as the soldiers trained the barrels of their artillery on the city, Montenegro's former capital.

"The situation is pretty tense," he said. "You never know what the Yugoslav army is up to, but it is impossible to frighten the people of Cetinje."

Many of the local residents own guns, but authorities have asked them to act with restraint.

The demonstrations have badly strained relations between Serbia and Montenegro. NATO repeated warnings Friday that Yugoslavia's Serb leaders were trying to overthrow the Montenegrin government.

"Clearly, there is an indirect attempt to undermine the democracy and constitutional base in Montenegro," NATO spokesman Jamie Shea said Friday. But he said Montenegro was "resisting courageously."

Federal authorities have tried to nationalize Montenegro's police force and have closed the country's borders with Croatia, Bosnia and Albania in recent days.

Montenegrin officials say Yugoslav soldiers have been manning border checkpoints since Monday. The U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees says it is urging aid convoys to wait before attempting to cross into Montenegro.

"Three trucks carrying humanitarian aid have been stopped and we have also had difficulty with international staff getting past the check post," said Robert Breen, of the UNHCR staff in Podgorica.

Reuters contributed to this report.

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