SERBIA: BELGRADE: PROTESTS CONTINUE OVER NEW VOTE RULING UPDATE

Описание: (27 Nov 1996) Natural Sound

Tens of thousands of people took to the streets of Belgrade on Wednesday.

In the biggest demonstration the city has seen for six years, eggs, stones and bricks were hurled at the buildings of the state controlled television station and Politika pro-regime newspaper.

Chanting "thieves" and "red bandits", it is the ninth successive day that the citizens of Belgrade have protested against the overturning of election results unfavourable to Serbian President Milosevic's ruling Socialists.

The streets of Belgrade were once again turned into a sea of angry demonstrators.

About 50-thousand protestors were incensed at the manner in which President Slobodan Milosevic cancelled a round of municipal elections last week, called for a re-vote and then imposed a media blackout.

Instead of turning up at polling stations to recast their vote, the demonstrators vented their frustration by throwing rocks and bricks at the building of the state controlled television station and Politika pro-regime newspaper.

The attack with bricks and rocks on media outlets loyal to Milosevic increased the tension in the Yugoslav capital.

It is the ninth straight day that Belgrade citizens have taken to the streets in protest.

Thousands of students joined workers and members of the middle class in the popular protest, which has snowballed to such an extent in the last few days that it may well threaten the stability of the Milosevic regime.

The U-S condemned the annulment of municipal election results, which showed victories for the anti-Milosevic "Zajedno" (Together) coalition.

But demonstrators also accused the United States of supporting the authoritarian Milosevic in exchange for his help implementing the Dayton peace agreement in neighbouring Bosnia.

The situation was exacerbated when Serbia's supreme court upheld rulings cancelling results of the local election in the capital Belgrade.

Opposition parties said they had won fair and square.

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