KOSOVO: SERBS GATHER FOR PEACE RALLY скачать в хорошем качестве

KOSOVO: SERBS GATHER FOR PEACE RALLY

(9 Jun 1999) Serbo-Croat/Nat Several hundred Serbs gathered in the Pristina Sports Stadium to rally against Serbian leader Slobodan Milosevic's strongman politics, as well as to ask Serbs living in the region to remain in their homes. Many Serbs are packing up and trying to leave Kosovo - fearing retaliation from the imminent return of ethnic Albanians and NATO troops. Meanwhile, friends and relatives gathered to bury Dojcin Kapetanovic, a Serb national, who was driving from Pristina to Poduijevo when, according to Serb reports, his bus came under gunfire from the K-L-A. As peace negotiations between NATO and Yugoslav officials continue - Serb opposition politicians urged Kosovo Serbs not to abandon their centuries-old homeland. Archbishop Artemije, the Orthodox Bishop of Pristina encouraged Kosovo Serbs to stay put ahead of the deployment of NATO troops in Serbia's southern province. SOUNDBITE: (Serbo-Croat) "Our message which I have sent through the priests to our people is the same thing I have always said: That is, whatever happens to us, you people should stay here in your homes, in your villages,in your towns." SUPER CAPTION: Archbishop Artemije, the Orthodox Bishop of Pristina Momcilo Trajkovic, head of the Kosovo-based Serbian Resistance Movement, warned that those who do leave may never be able to return. SOUNDBITE: (Serbo-Croat) "We wish that in the forthcoming period we organise ourselves and stay here at any cost in our homes and to seek answers to all the questions. A mass departure would mean we never come back here. We cannot give this chance to anyone". SUPER CAPTION: Moma Trajkovic, Leader of the Serb Resistance Movement Trajkovic had initially called for the rally to take place inside the sports centre but the government banned it from taking place there. Rally participants also called on NATO to disarm the ethnic Albanian rebels of the Kosovo Liberation Army, which fights for the province's independence from Serbia. NATO troop deployment in the strife-torn province, intended to make way for the return of 800,000 ethnic Albanian refugees is believed to be imminent. Almost all Serbian opposition parties and independent analysts have voiced concern over a predicted exodus of the 250,000 Serbs from the province. But as Serb leaders urged people to stay put, others in Pristina gathered to bury another victim of the enduring conflict. Friends and relatives gathered in Pristina at the funeral of Dojcin Kapetanovic, a Serb national who died overnight from shot-gun wounds. Serb reports say the bus driver was driving from Pristina to Poduijevo on Saturday when his bus came under gunfire from the K-L-A. 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...