By Irena Guzelova in Belgrade Published: September 21 2000 16:52GMT | Last Updated: September 21 2000 23:52GMT Yugoslavia's opposition leaders appear to be ready to concede publicly that they do not believe President Slobodan Milosevic will relinquish power voluntarily after the country votes on Sunday. The opposition parties, ahead in opinion polls, are confident about winning the elections but expect widespread manipulation of results. They have called the public out on to the streets to await the results on Sunday night, and recognise that their success depends on people's willingness to protest. The government has dismissed opinion polls putting opposition candidate Vojislav Kostunica comfortably ahead by between 6 and 20 percentage points as western propaganda portrayed the race as a choice between "patriotism and treachery". Veteran observers say the government may decide to ignore any protests on Sunday and calculate that they will die down. Or they may order the police to disperse the crowd with batons and tear gas, as they did during demonstrations in May. A third scenario is for the authorities to send in the army, with orders to put an end to the protests. There is a sense of foreboding among many people in Serbia. They recognise the importance of these elections, but are not sure how far to go to protect their votes. Many fear the opposition's success could trigger a harsher police crackdown. The opposition is keen to prevent bloodshed. It has appealed to the army and police to respect the will of the people and hopes to limit Mr Milosevic's use of force. In the event of violence, they have indicated they would back down. Their next strategy would be to present themselves as the only credible force at next year's elections for a Serbian parliament and president. Diplomats who witnessed the collapse of communism in eastern Europe say the first five days or so after the elections will be a crucial indicator of what to expect. The campaign has been marred by intimidation. Nebojsa Pavkovic, army chief of staff, has referred to Sunday as "D-day" and said his troops would prevent any attempt at "taking power in the street". The opposition hopes that its appeal among middle and lower-ranking officials in the ruling coalition will limit the scope for violence. Natasa Kandic, director of the Humanitarian Law Centre, says that between May and September police detained more than 2,500 opposition members and members of pressure groups. _______________________________________________ Crashlist resources: http://website.lineone.net/~resource_base To change your options or unsubscribe go to: http://lists.wwpublish.com/mailman/listinfo/crashlist
