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Yugoslavia: Opposition Launches Anti-Milosevic Rallies


Belgrade, 22 September 1999 (RFE/RL) - Serbian opposition groups have launched what they say will be daily street protests to force Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic from power. Tens of thousands of people attended peaceful rallies across Serbia yesterday as the campaign got underway. Some 20,000 people gathered for a demonstration in Belgrade. Opposition leader Zoran Djindjic, who heads the Alliance For Change, called for opposition protests to quickly swell in number before the opposition's momentum ebbs. The Alliance of Change is calling for Milosevic's resignation and the formation of a transitional government as a prelude to free and fair elections. The Alliance blames Milosevic for Serbia's economic and social decline and for Yugoslavia's war with NATO over Kosovo, which has led to the loosening of Yugoslavia's control over the majority ethnic-Albanian province. Yesterday's demonstrations were not joined by the Serbian Renewal Movement, led by Vuk Draskovic, who has warned the protests could turn violent and provoke a civil war.
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