Protests in Serbia Archive
Odraz B92 Daily News Service

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    ODRAZ B92, Belgrade                             Daily News Service
    Odraz B92 vesti (by 11 PM), December 18, 1996

    e-mail: beograd@siicom.com      URL: http://www.siicom.com/odrazb/
            odrazb92@b92.opennet.org     http://www.siicom.com/b92/
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    All texts are Copyright 1996 Radio B92. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
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    NEWS BY 11 PM
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    SEVERAL HUNDREDS OF CAB DRIVERS PROTEST AGAINST THEIR COLLEAGUE'S
    MURDER

    Hundreds of Belgrade cab drivers formed a long column of vehicles
    tonight, driving through the streets of Belgrade, as a sign of
    protest against the murder of their colleague in Belgrade today.

    ``Beotaxi'' company said today that around 18.00 at Topciderska
    Zvezda a cab driver of this company was killed. Cab drivers of all
    Belgrade taxi associations took part in the column today. The
    Belgrade police was not willing to comment the latest incident.


    MUNICIPAL ELECTORAL COMMISSION CONFIRMED EARLIER DECISIONS

    Municipal Electoral Commission in Smederevska Palanka re-examined
    its decisions on the second round of local elections for 5
    mandates in this municipality and confirmed its original decision,
    saying that those five electoral units will have to enter
    elections again, said some Belgrade media.

    At present, according to results of all three electoral rounds
    (Nov 3, Nov 17 and Dec 1) Serbian Socialist Party won 27 and
    Zajedno 22 mandates.


    29TH DAY OF PROTEST IN BELGRADE

    Citizens of Belgrade walked down the streets of their city for the
    29th time, in order to express their protest in relation to the
    annulment of results of the second round of local elections.
    Several tens of hundreds of Belgraders expressed their
    dissatisfaction over the official attitude of Kreml in relation to
    the electoral crisis in Serbia, by booing loudly in front of the
    building of the Russian Federation Embassy in Belgrade. After
    having come back to the starting Square of Republic, demonstrators
    were addressed by Vuk Draskovic, President of the Serbian Renewal
    Movement, who reacted to the last night's attack of the state-
    controlled RTS. RTS accused the protesters of being traitors, for
    they were waving a German flag, among many other European flags.
    Draskovic said: ``This is a flag of a new, democratic Germany,
    Germany of Villy Brant, not of Adolf Hitler.'' ``This is a flag of
    a country which accepted half a milion of people who fled from the
    communist Serbia. Let Milosevic ask Serbian refugees from Bosnia
    and Herzegovina how Germany awaited and procured for them, and
    then he should ask the same people how himself awaited for them
    and how they live in Serbia today,'' said Draskovic. Draskovic
    added that the Serbian President got worried when he had heard
    that some students from Nis walked all the way to Belgrade, but
    that he was not worried at all when an entire nation walked out of
    their country. Zoran Djindjic then addressed the gathered by
    saying: ``We don't hold anything neither against them, nor their
    red flag. We are against thieves among them.''  Djindjic estimated
    the regime ``is cracking'' and that there are ``more cracks than
    expected.''

    President of the Civic Alliance of Serbia Vesna Pesic sent a
    message to Milosevic saying that the people will not allow a
    ``spiritual, moral and political genocide'' to be carried out
    anymore. Pesic characterised that the counter-demonstrations are
    nothing but an ``auto-goal'' for the authorities. A huge festivity
    will take place at the Square of Republic tomorrow, said the
    Zajedno leaders, because of the traditional Serbian slava of Saint
    Nicholas. Fish, cakes and wine will be served for the occasion.

    The most interesting banners today said: ``Nick Slaughter for the
    President,'' ``Slobo, I Am Waiting For You -- Tito,'' ``Sisiphus,
    We Know How You Feel...''



    Some five thousand workers from 15 Serbian cities protested in
    Belgrade yesterday and expressed their support ``to themselves
    because they fight for their salaries, to students because they
    fight for democratic processes and to Zajedno for the votes they
    won,'' said today's 'Dnevni Telegraf' (Belgrade daily).



    The fifteenth day of the Novi Sad students' protest was marked by
    students walking down the streets they were not walking down
    before. They were lead by an orchestra -- saxophones and drums.

    Professor Milos Tesic expressed his support and reminded the
    students that ``back in 1991 student Predrag Matic from Vrsac was
    marching down these streets, who got killed near Vukovar only a
    month after he received his masters degree -- meaningless and
    without any reason -- for the very same people who call us
    fascists these days.''



    Nebojsa Covic, Mayor of Belgrade said to news agency Beta
    yesterday that ``he frequently goes out on the balcony with the
    President of the Belgrade Executive Board and watches the protest
    walks of Belgraders,'' reported Dnevni Telegraf today.

    ``None of us has anything to be ashamed of,'' said Covic. Asked
    what he feels about what he sees from the Parliament balcony,
    Covic replied: ``A very high number of citizens.'' He also said
    that ``he will comment the protests in Belgrade when time for such
    a comment comes.''

    Prepared by: Aleksandra Scepanovic
    Edited by: (not edited; to be resent upon editing)

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    ODRAZ B92, Belgrade                             Daily News Service
    e-mail: beograd@siicom.com      URL: http://www.siicom.com/odrazb/
            odrazb92@b92.opennet.org     http://www.siicom.com/b92/
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