From: "SNN" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Reply-To: "STOP NATO: ¡NO PASARAN!" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Thousands Rally in Belgrade for Milosevic Release By Beti Bilandzic BELGRADE (Reuters) - Around 3,000 Serb nationalists rallied in Belgrade on Saturday to demand the release of former president Slobodan Milosevic (news - web sites), who is being held on corruption charges and is wanted by the U.N. war crimes tribunal. It was the second protest by mainly middle-aged and elderly followers of Milosevic since his arrest a week ago. His detention has, however, been welcomed by most Serbs wearied by a decade of Balkan wars and economic decay. The reformist coalition that replaced Milosevic after he fell in a popular uprising last year wants to try him for abuses of power but has resisted Western pressure to turn him over to the international tribunal soon for fear of making him a martyr. ``Fascists! NATO (news - web sites) murderers! Release Slobodan!'' the protesters screamed, seeking as Milosevic did during his 13 years in power to portray opponents as puppets of the West. Massing in front of the Serbian republic government building in central Belgrade, they blocked traffic as three senior officials in Milosevic's hardline nationalist Socialist Party of Serbia (SPS) turned up amid wild cheering. Some protesters held up small squares of white paper with ''Arrest Me, I am Slobodan'' printed on them. About 30 riot police deployed to protect the government headquarters but the crowd appeared peaceful. ``The Socialist Party strongly condemns the oppression behavior of the authorities in their investigation against Milosevic,'' said an SPS pamphlet circulated among the crowd. ``Charges pressed by the Interior Ministry and their use of more resources (to detain and prosecute Milosevic) than in the fight against ethnic Albanian terrorists in southern Serbia is a disgrace to Serbia and Yugoslavia,'' it said. ``We demand Milosevic's immediate release and an end to staged political proceedings against SPS members and their persecution. Enough of lies and deceit. Long live Serbia, Yugoslavia and Slobodan Milosevic!'' On Thursday, several hundred diehard supporters rallied before the iron gates of Belgrade's hill-top central prison where Milosevic is detained, calling for his release. The turnout for both demonstrations was a far cry from the hundreds of thousands Milosevic could summon to push his nationalist causes at the height of his power in the 1990s Miroslav Antic, http://www.antic.org/SNN/ _________________________________________________ KOMINFORM P.O. Box 66 00841 Helsinki Phone +358-40-7177941 Fax +358-9-7591081 http://www.kominf.pp.fi General class struggle news: [EMAIL PROTECTED] subscribe mails to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Geopolitical news: [EMAIL PROTECTED] subscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] __________________________________________________
