10,000 Mourn First Victim of Serb Opposition Protests

Ten thousand Serbian opposition supporters, defying a police ban, marched in driving snow in Belgrade on Saturday after the funeral of an activist who died Tuesday.

Predrag Starcevic was the first fatality in almost six weeks of street protests against election fraud by President Slobodan Milosevic’s government. Starcevic was reportedly trampled to death by a crowd escaping a police charge.

No attempt was made by reserve police forces to interfere with Saturday’s march, which was held despite the subzero cold, and the demonstrators dispersed without incident after reaching the city center.

Police were tougher with thousands of students who tried to march down a major downtown street after nightfall, swiftly diverting them into a pedestrian lane and trapping them there.

Protesters then walked in circles as if they were in jail. After an hourlong standoff with massed police, the students dispersed. No disturbances were reported.

Police banned street marches after violence on Christmas Eve when the opposition coalition, Zajedno (Together), battled rival demonstrators organized by Milosevic’s Socialist Party and later clashed with security forces.

The civil unrest followed Milosevic’s refusal to accept victories by Zajedno in Belgrade and 14 of Serbia’s biggest towns in municipal elections held Nov. 17.

The protests pose the biggest challenge to Milosevic since he rose to power nine years ago, and the authoritarian president has seemed intent on crushing them, at the risk of losing international support.

Vuk Draskovic, a Zajedno leader, urged protesters on Saturday to avoid violence but warned, “There is a line beyond which a man no longer puts up with humiliation and terror.

“Milosevic is trying to take the citizens across that line to provoke bloodshed,” Draskovic said.

The premier of Montenegro, Serbia’s tiny partner in the rump Yugoslav federation, sent a message of support Saturday to Belgrade protesters.

“Montenegro has always supported pro-democracy tendencies and is now supporting you,” Prime Minister Milo Djukanovic said in his message.

Also Saturday, domestic support for the protesters spread to the head of Serbia’s Orthodox Church.

In an early message for Orthodox Christmas, celebrated on Jan. 7, Patriarch Pavle urged a peaceful solution and acceptance of the elections.

“The respect of law and justice obliges us all to respect the freely expressed will of people, to prevent autocracy and violence that never can and never will bring any good to people and state,” Pavle said.