Protests in Serbia Archive
Odraz B92 Daily News Service

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    ODRAZ B92, Belgrade                             Daily News Service
    Odraz B92 vesti (by 8 PM), December 30, 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 8 PM
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    TODAY'S PROTEST RALLY

    The Coalition Zajedno held its 41st protest in a row in the center
    of Belgrade. About 50,000 people attended today's rally. Since
    last Thursday, heavy police forces have been preventing the crowd
    from their usual walkabouts in downtown Belgrade.

    Today's rally was addressed by Dejan Bulatovic, protester who was
    severely beaten by the police and sentenced to 25 days in prison
    because he carried Milosevic's effigy at one of the rallies
    earlier this month. Dejan Bulatovic was released from prison
    today.

    Head of the Serbian Renewal Movement Vuk Draskovic focused his
    speech on the relationship between Serbian and Montenegrin
    authorities. ``Neither the USA nor Europe can help democratic
    Serbia as Montenegro can,'' said Draskovic and appealed directly
    to Montenegrin authorities, saying: ``Your ancestors did not help
    democratic Serbia by their speeches only. You can help democratic
    Serbia in one way only: withdraw your MPs from the Federal
    Parliament until the election results are recognized. Suspend the
    work of your representatives in the Federal Government, Army
    Headquarters and the diplomatic corps.''

    Vesna Pesic, leader of the Civil Alliance of Serbia, said that
    Milosevic is facing the same problem that plagues all dictators:
    there is no one to tell him what is really going on. ``His only
    option is violence, and we don't want to be part of his option,''
    she concluded.

    Zoran Djindjic, head of the Democratic Party, congratulated the
    citizens of Belgrade on their persistence and on their willingness
    to endure the freezing cold of an unusually severe December. He
    also said: ``This is what we have accomplished in these 41 days:
    we started off after the fox who had stolen our votes, only to
    realize that it's a dinosaur coming from the Stone Age. The whole
    world now knows that the basic question here is: will a dozen of
    them put the ten million of us back in the Stone Age, or will we
    put them back in the museum of history, where they belong.''

    Due to a heavy police presence, the demonstrators did not go on
    their traditional walkabout. They just did a ``prison march,''
    walking up and down Knez Mihajlova, the pedestrian zone in the
    heart of downtown Belgrade, where the police have allowed them to
    march.


    STUDENTS' NEW YEAR MESSAGE TO MILOSEVIC

    The Steering Board of the Student Protest '96 today sent a New
    Year's Message to Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic. The
    students' message says that the situation in the country is
    dramatic:

    ``It seems to us that we are just a step away from democracy, but
    we've never been closer to the civil war, too. We, the students,
    want peace and democracy in Serbia. We hope that you will not tell
    us that we have sent this message to the wrong address. You made
    the first step: you called the OSCE delegation to evaluate the
    disputed election results. We regret that this conflict could not
    be solved within the institutions of our legal system, but we
    support that act of yours. Now, when the truth has been
    established, it's time for the next step. The sooner we recognize
    the real election results, the sooner we will turn to the
    questions our future depends on. Every day of hesitation puts us
    farther from the world, the world we desperately want to be part
    of. Human casualties are the most terrifying aspect of this
    crisis. Now is the time for you to act as a statesman, with
    dignity and decisiveness. And then you will see: the coming year
    will be a happy one,'' conclude the students in their letter to
    Milosevic.


    JOURNALISTS OF TV STUDIO B SUPPORT STUDENTS

    The Journalists of Belgrade's TV station Studio B have sent a
    letter of support to the organizers of the Student Protest 96. The
    journalists said that they are heart and soul with the students,
    but they cannot broadcast objective reports because they are led
    and censored by an editorial board which is under the absolute
    control of the state.


    DEMOCRATIC PARTY: REGIME PLAYING GAMES WITH OSCE

    Spokesman of the Democratic Party Slobodan Vuksanovic today stated
    that the ruling Socialist Party of Serbia is trying to play games,
    via state-run media, with the OSCE's official report on the
    municipal elections in Serbia. He labeled that manipulation as
    ``irresponsible and dangerous, because it is pushing Serbia into
    even deeper isolation.''

    Prepared by: Aleksandra Scepanovic
    Edited by: Vaska Andjelkovic (Tumir)

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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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