Serbian strikes begin ahead of national day of action

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BELGRADE, Yugoslavia -- Encouraged by cheering crowds, a convoy of 60 trucks blocked a key highway as opposition forces sought to gather support for a nationwide strike aimed at forcing President Slobodan Milosevic to relinquish power.

The trucks -- taking part in a "dress rehearsal" for a series of full-scale roadblocks planned for Monday -- were greeted by jubilant supporters as they passed through the opposition stronghold Cacak in central Yugoslavia.

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Some people tossed flowers as the trucks headed to an important highway linking Belgrade with southern Yugoslavia.

Workers at two major coal mines did not wait for Monday and walked off the job this weekend.

But Belgrade police sealed off the main pit at Serbia's biggest coal mine, where the strike in support of the opposition threatened to plunge large parts of the country into darkness.

"Strong police forces have sealed off the pit area," Miodrag Rankovic, a member of the strike committee, said.

On Friday night, around 4,000 workers at Kolubara laid down their tools as part of a campaign of civil disobedience aimed at forcing President Slobodan Milosevic to stand down.

The move was clearly aimed at keeping open a mine that supplies coal to one of the country's major electric power stations. The state-run power company warned strikers they were endangering public health and safety by their action.

Miners at Kolubara went on strike on Saturday, and Beta said about 1,000 workers in another coal mine in Kostolac joined the strikes on Sunday.

Crucial time

But the cautious pace of the opposition's campaign raises questions about whether they will have the momentum to carry out their threats of bringing the entire country to a complete standstill.

Authorities in Yugoslavia's main republic, Serbia, warned students against joining the strike on Monday, saying "events disrupting school activities" for political purposes "are illegal." Students in Nis and other cities walked out of class during protests last week.

International pressure continued to build on Milosevic, who had rejected an offer of high-level mediation by close ally Russia.

The president of neighbouring Romania, Emil Constantinescu, urged Milosevic to concede defeat and congratulated Kostunica for his "historic victory."

In Cacak, truck drivers on Sunday brandished banners and posters of Vojislav Kostunica, whom the opposition and Western leaders insist trounced Milosevic in September 24 elections. Milosevic rejects the claims and says a run-off election is needed on October 8.

Broken economy

Smaller, traffic-snarling blockades were held at main intersections in the capital Belgrade.

Drivers honked horns, and pedestrians blew whistles and shook toy rattles -- playing on a Serbian expression "broken like a baby's rattle" -- to suggest that Milosevic's regime is broken beyond repair.

"No way are we going to settle for a run-off, and that is now the law for everyone in this country," said Velimir Ilic, the mayor of Cacak, an industrial town of 80,000 people.

Later on Sunday, about 10,000 opposition supporters gathered at the main town square for a seventh consecutive night of anti-Milosevic rallies.

"Our victory is as pure as a diamond," Ilic told the crowd. "Kostunica is the elected president and we must persist in our resistance."

Opposition leader Milan Protic also urged people to come out into the streets, stay away from their jobs and keep their children away from school. Protic acknowledged that it would take time to build momentum among a public drained by years of conflict and economic misery.

Protic, the opposition candidate for Belgrade mayor, said the protest leaders would try to escalate the tempo systematically "until Milosevic realises that he is no longer president."

In Washington, the National Security Council spokesman P.J. Crowley said the Milosevic opposition is "getting stronger."

"They are sending a strong message to Milosevic: 'Your time in office is over,'" he said.

Opposition leaders, using figures from their poll watchers, claim Kostunica won the election with 51.34 percent to 36.22 percent for Milosevic. But the Federal Electoral Commission, in a tally criticised by the West, say Kostunica fell short of the majority needed to avoid a runoff.

In Berlin, the German government said Putin and Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder spoke by telephone late Saturday and agreed that "Kostunica's election victory emphatically expresses the will of the Serbian people for a democratic change in Yugoslavia."

The Associated Press & Reuters contributed to this report.

Russia ready to mediate in Yugoslav poll crisis
September 30, 2000
Calls for general strike as Serbs take to streets
September 29, 2000
Clinton says Yugoslav sanctions could be lifted if Milosevic yields
September 28, 2000
Yugoslav election body orders second round of elections
September 27, 2000
Opposition ahead in Yugoslav elections
September 26, 2000

Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
Serbian Ministry of Information
Democratic Opposition of Serbia - in Serbian
Movement for Democratic Serbia

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