Right-wing groups protest in support of Serbs in northern Mitrovica скачать в хорошем качестве

Right-wing groups protest in support of Serbs in northern Mitrovica

(17 Mar 2008) 1. Serbian parliament building 2. Riot police guarding presidency building 3. Close up, shield, tilt up to riot policeman 4. Relatives of Serbian policeman and soldiers killed in Kosovo in 1998-1999. 5. Close up, pictures of dead Serbs 6. Demonstrators passing by and chanting 7. Various, police guarding Serbian parliament 8. Wide of demonstrators approaching 9. Mid of demonstrators 10. Demonstrators passing some hiding their faces from camera 11. Serbian flags 12. Mid of flag STORYLINE: Protesters marched through the Serbian capital Belgrade on Monday against the independence of Kosovo. The demonstrators marked the fourth anniversary of ethnic Albanian attacks on minority Kosovo Serbs. Several people were killed and many Serb houses and churches in Kosovo were destroyed during the weeks of violence in 2004. Police were deployed in front of government buildings and Western embassies, apparently fearing a repeat of the riots that marked Kosovo's declaration of independence on 17 February, 2008. The demonstration was reportedly organised by several right-wing groups. Many of the marchers were young men, some of whom took pains to hide their faces from television cameras. The protests also coincided with renewed friction in the Kosovo Serb town of Mitrovica, where Serb protesters had taken over the town's courthouse. President Boris Tadic accused the international forces in Kosovo of using excessive force to expel the protesters and warned of a possible escalation of violence throughout Kosovo. Tadic urged the UN and NATO to refrain from using force and called on the Serbs not to provoke the international forces. He urged Kosovo Serb leaders to do all they can to restore calm. UN police said 53 Serb demonstrators who occupied the courthouse were arrested in the action early Monday by about 100 UN policemen and NATO troops. Witnesses said about 20 of those who were arrested were later freed by Serb rioters who stopped three UN vehicles driving them away. Predominantly ethnic Albanian Kosovo has been under UN control since 1999, when NATO launched an air war to stop then-President Slobodan Milosevic's crackdown on ethnic Albanian separatists. Serbia, which considers the territory its historic and religious heartland, says Kosovo's declaration of independence is illegal under international law. 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...