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News Archive 1999

Alliance for Change promotes Avramovic as future premier.

During the Alliance For Change Convention in Novi Sad on Sep. 16, the Yugoslav Central Bank's former governor, Dragoslav Avramovic, was officially promoted, in the name of this coalition, as the future premier of the transitional Serbian government.

The Alliance For Change's declaration was presented at the convention before about 6,000 people, in the crowded Vojvodina Sports Center in Novi Sad.

The declaration demands "responsibility and Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic to step down as well as his regime, because of the fatal results of the policies of the last ten years," then "setting up a transitional government, scheduling free, democratic and equal elections, under the control of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe."

The rally was addressed by the leaders of the Alliance For Change member parties, who signed the agreement on cooperation with the Alliance.

The Democratic Party President Zoran Djindjic called on the citizens to be on Sep. 21 "at their work places, each in their own Trg Slobode (Freedom Square)."

"Policies are not being conducted from the plush Belgrade district of Dedinje where Milosevic lives, a stone stands there which we should remove by physical force. A small effort is needed, a physical effort, to remove that stone," said Djindjic.

The New Serbia party President and Cacak Mayor, Velimir Ilic, called on Milosevic "to come out of his bunker and to step down," adding that "Milosevic probably doesn't know that the NATO bombing has stopped."

The Social Democracy party President, Vuk Obradovic, said that the opposition "has a strong but not invincible opponent before it."

"For months we have been listening to one message at these rallies, 'Milosevic, leave'...He wouldn't even think of it and we must force him and on Sep. 21 make him do that," Obradovic said.

The Christian Democratic Party of Serbia President, and coordinator of the Alliance For Change, Vladan Batic, announced that "a peaceful democratic uprising, a peaceful democratic revolution starts in Belgrade on the feast day of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary on Sep. 21."

"This time there will be no stopping, we won't stop half way, we are going through to the end," said Batic.

Nenad Canak, the president of the League of the Vojvodina Social Democrats, member of the Alliance of Democratic Parties, during his speech announced a rally to be held at the central Freedom Square in Novi Sad on Sep. 21.

"Then we shall take over the provincial government and move out all the squatters," said Canak and added: "We are going to rally at Freedom Square on Sep. 21 to remove the killers, to finish with Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic. On that day, all the heads of the districts in Serbia must fall, must step down."

Dragoslav Avramovic said that the main tasks of his government would be to prepare free elections, reduce the state apparatus, especially the police, and change the economic policy.

"We have two major problems, prices have suddenly rocketed, the dinar is becoming weaker and weaker and inflation is being born, which we thought was buried back in 1994. This government cannot prevent it because it has no contact with the world. A new investment program is needed. We must lift the sanctions and resolve the problems which we have with our neighbors," said Avramovic.

Source: Beta Press


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