THE Serb government is trying to impose a state of emergency to halt six weeks of mass rallies in Belgrade and other centres, opposition leaders claimed yesterday. The opposition also blamed Serbian police for the death of a demonstrator, Predrag Starcevic (39), last week.
In a new twist to the crisis which began when the Belgrade authorities annulled opposition wins in municipal elections, several units of the Yugoslav armed forces have joined in the criticism of President Slobodan Milosevic.
"If it must be, we will put ourselves at the head of the Serbian people to make the truth triumph," said a text from the military units, cited by the Democratic Party. About a dozen units, including the elite 63rd parachute brigade, were involved, the party said.
In their message - addressed to Mr Milosevic, the military chief of staff and pro opposition students in the city of Nis - the units said they had decided to speak out "for the salvation of democratic relations in Serbia, for truth, justice, human dignity and honour".
Security police yesterday blocked marches by 70,000 people in Belgrade on the 42nd consecutive day of protests. Some 50,000 activists and 20,000 students massed in Belgrade squares at different times and then tried to swarm into major streets only to run into walls of riot police.
Both protest columns were boxed in by police cordons and they had to retreat into pedestrian lanes or side streets. No disturbances were reported before demonstrators dispersed.
Earlier Mr Vuk Draskovic, one of the leaders of the opposition Zajedno (Together) alliance, referring to the death of Starcevic, told the rally in Belgrade: "According to information we possess, he was killed by the police. That is why they hid his death for two days.
Starcevic, a teacher, died after being caught up in violent clashes between opposition and government supporters last Tuesday. His death was announced two days later and thousands attended his funeral on Saturday. Before dying, Starcevic said he had been beaten up by supporters of Mr Milosevic.
In freezing temperatures yesterday, demonstrators in Republic Square walked around in circles with their hands on their heads like convicts in a prison yard. "Serbia has been transformed into a prison, but we are free prisoners," Mr Draskovic said to thunderous applause.
The opposition received a significant boost at the weekend when a team from the Organisation for Security and Co operation in Europe (OSCE), headed by the former Spanish Prime Minister, Mr Felipe Gonzalez, declared the opposition the true election winners in 14 Serbian towns and cities.