Milosevic facing mounting pressure to quit

In this story: 'Dress rehearsal' for strike 'Time for him to go' -- U.S. RELATED STORIES, SITES

BELGRADE, Yugoslavia -- Thousands of workers in Yugoslavia are preparing to launch strikes in the latest drive to force President Slobodan Milosevic from power.

Opposition figures have called for a general strike on Monday as part of a campaign of protest and civil disobedience levelled at the government after it lost elections held on September 24.

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Around 4,000 coal miners in Kolubara, 40 km (25 miles) southwest of Belgrade, and workers at the Pancevo oil refinery just north of the capital have begun to stop work.

The action at Kolubara, Yugoslavia's largest coal mine, could threaten the country's electricity supplies.

The action comes after the German government announced Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder and President Vladimir Putin had agreed the victory by opposition candidate Vojislav Kostunica in Yugoslavia's presidential election reflected the will of the Serbian people for democratic change.

A spokeswoman said in a brief statement that the Russian and German leaders had agreed the common position in a telephone call on Saturday, which followed Schroeder's visit to Moscow last Monday.

"They agreed that, in the election victory of Vojislav Kostunica, the will of the Serbian people for a democratic change in Yugoslavia had been clearly expressed," the statement said.

But Milosevic appears determined to cling to power after turning down an offer from President Vladimir Putin for Russia to mediate in the political crisis.

A defiant Milosevic used a speech at an army ceremony to make clear he had no intention of stepping down.

He said Yugoslavia would resist -- just as it resisted NATO last year during the Kosovo conflict.

"We will counter pressures and threats with the truth, unity, knowledge, work and creativity just as we did successfully during the (NATO) aggression and in the subsequent reconstruction of our country," he said.

The opposition says its candidate, Vojislav Kostunica, was the clear winner in the recent presidential ballot.

But the federal election commission says he fell short of the 50 percent needed for outright victory and has called a run-off for October 8.

The electoral commission on Saturday rejected all opposition complaints of vote rigging in the September 24 ballot and confirmed that a run-off vote will go ahead.

An official from Kostunica's Democratic Party of Serbia said the opposition would take its argument over the conduct of the election to the country's highest court.

"We shall see what the Constitutional Court will do but the chances are small that they will judge in our favour, as the same people are sitting on the commission and in the court," said the official, Nebojsa Bakarec.

Kostunica plans to boycott the new poll instead urging a wave of protest and strikes aimed at forcing the government to accept the election result.

A miners at Kolubara, Zoran Ristic, said: "We are not here to play games ... we will continue this until the end."

At an office where workers signed a strike petition, a banner was hung with a message to Milosevic: "He's finished."

Roads and railway lines have also been disrupted in a "dress rehearsal" of Monday's action.

"At 5 a.m. (0300 GMT) on Monday, Serbia will come to a halt," one opposition leader, Vuk Obradovic, said.

P.J. Crowley, spokesman for the U.S. National Security Council, said President Bill Clinton has been told by President Vladimir Putin of Milosevic's rebuff of his offer of Russian mediation.

Clinton had telephoned Putin on Saturday to urge him to help to resolve Yugoslavia's political stalemate, Crowley said.

"President Clinton stressed that the will of the Serbian people should be respected. President Putin agreed."

It was unclear whether Russia would seek to send a lower-level envoy or use its influence in more indirect ways.

U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright made it clear that Washington is only interested in sending one message to Milosevic: "It is time for him to go."

For the moment, however, the situation in Yugoslavia is moving toward a test of strength between Milosevic, with the military and police behind him, and opponents bolstered by masses tired of their nation's economic hardships and international isolation.

"No more big words, speeches and rallies," Obradovic, a former army general who is now a Milosevic opponent, said.

"Our message to the police, to the army and to paramilitary units is that we are not afraid of them."

But he appealed for a nonviolent response. "Not a single drop of blood must be shed," he said. "We ask everybody to be peaceful and dignified."

Milosevic linked the opposition's action to the attitude of Western countries which are unpopular following NATO attacks on Yugoslavia.

"Foreign forces will not dare attack us again, unless they try to come here with an invitation from our domestic enemies," Milosevic said.

"Since foreign military intervention or a war are out of the question, other means of destruction of Yugoslavia are being mentioned -- psychological, media and political pressures."

The Associated Press & Reuters contributed to this report.

Russia ready to mediate in Yugoslav poll crisis
September 30, 2000
Calls for general strike as Serbs take to streets
September 29, 2000
Clinton says Yugoslav sanctions could be lifted if Milosevic yields
September 28, 2000
Yugoslav election body orders second round of elections
September 27, 2000
Opposition ahead in Yugoslav elections
September 26, 2000

Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
Serbian Ministry of Information
Democratic Opposition of Serbia - in Serbian
Movement for Democratic Serbia

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