SERBIA: PRO-DEMOCRACY DEMONSTRATORS CHANGE THEIR TACTICS скачать в хорошем качестве

SERBIA: PRO-DEMOCRACY DEMONSTRATORS CHANGE THEIR TACTICS

(5 Jan 1997) Eng/Serbo-Croat/Nat Pro-democracy demonstrators in Belgrade changed gear on their daily protests against the government on Sunday by driving thousands of cars into the city's downtown area - bringing it to a virtual standstill. The move is an effort to frustrate police who have blocked marchers, citing traffic concerns. More than 60-thousand people took part in the demonstration which marks the 47th straight day of protests. They were told they could no longer walk downtown to demonstrate against the Serbian government. So they drove instead. Protestors by the tens of thousands drove to the centre of Belgrade, whistling and cheering as they arrived. Within minutes, the onslaught of cars brought the downtown area to a virtual standstill. Taking advantage of the complete traffic collapse, tens of thousands more demonstrators gathered in the Serbian capital. They booed and whistled and chanted "Red Bandits" as they passed government buildings and the state TV. Drivers stopped and opened their bonnets, joking around and feigning engine trouble. A few jacked up their cars to remove tyres, then promptly put the tyres back on again. As the drivers blocked Belgrade streets, chanting "We need police help," riot police sat in their buses in adjacent streets. The opposition parties challenged the Serbian President - Slobodan Milosevic to explain why a large force of riot police had been deployed. The Democratic Party said in a letter Sunday that the right to freedom of movement and association can be restricted only when police are searching for a suspect or preventing the spread of contagious diseases, or when the country is under attack. Sunday's demonstrations were led by opposition leaders Vuk Draskovic and Zoran Djindjic who were joined by family members. Djindjic quipped about the police's inability to stop the protests. SOUNDBITE: (Serbo-Croat ) "Now the police are finally doing their job properly. They have blocked the entire city at last." SUPERCAPTION: Opposition leader Zoran Djindjic The protests, now in their sixth week, were sparked by the government's annulment of local elections in more than a dozen cities the opposition won. International fact-finders from the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe reported Dec. 27 that the Serbian opposition had won local elections in Belgrade and 13 other cities. Milosevic's close aide, Yugoslav Foreign Minister Milan Milutinovic, later acknowledged that the opposition won nine of 16 district boards in Belgrade. But, he said nothing about the more important Belgrade city council, which is elected separately. Draskovic has vowed to keep up its daily protests - the fiercest challenge yet to Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic. SOUNDBITE: "We will force him to remove the police from our streets of Belgrade, and other cities like Belgrade. We can blockade all Serbia in this way." SUPERCAPTION: Vuk Draskovic, Opposition leader Election officials in Nis, Serbia's second-largest city, ordered a repeat of the November 17 vote. Opposition leaders who assert they won the election said they would boycott the new elections. More worryingly for Milosevic, they have also warned that unless Milosevic concedes by Tuesday, tens of thousands of Nis residents would go to Belgrade next week and march to the president's home. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter:   / ap_archive   Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​ Instagram:   / apnews   You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...