Opposition protests continue throughout Serbia

Opposition protest rallies continued throughout Serbia over the weekend with protesters demanding that Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic and his regime step down.

The Alliance for Change organized a rally in the town of Zajecar on Aug. 14, gathering about 2,500 people. Rallies organized by the alliance in Trstenik and Krusevac the next day gathered some 3,000 people and 8,000 people respectively.

"If they refuse to leave power peacefully, the people will rise up against them. We are not advocating the Bucharest scenario and would like this to take place democratically," Alliance for Change coordinator Vladan Batic said at the Zajecar rally, adding that the leaders of Serbia and Yugoslavia could visit only one place -- The Hague.

Vuk Obradovic, president of the Social Democracy party, said that "people have begun to recommend the formation of a transitional government together with the regime." He went on to rule out this possibility, adding that "the people are overwhelmingly demanding the resignation of Slobodan Milosevic."

Representatives of the student organization Otpor (Resistance) held a protest in Vranje on Aug. 13 in front of 1,000 people, demanding Milosevic's resignation. In Leskovac, Valjevo, and Kragujevac, about 100 residents protested in regular daily rallies.

Source: Beta Press

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