Serbs Defy Government, Vote on Autonomy

KNIN, Yugoslavia — Armed Serbs patrolled streets Sunday in the republic of Croatia to stop police from intervening as the Serb minority voted on autonomy in defiance of a government ban.

Voters formed long lines in front of polling booths in this Serbian center in southwestern Croatia for the referendum, organized by the Serbian Democratic Party. The party favors a degree of self-government for Serbs.

Croatians, who are Roman Catholic, dominate the western half of Yugoslavia, and Orthodox Serbs form the majority in the south of the country.

According to official statistics, Serbs make up 11% of Croatia’s 5 million people. The two ethnic groups are intermingled in a patchwork of small communities in southwestern Croatia.