Opposition-Run Transit Firm Seized

Two weeks after seizing a TV station, Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic’s administration lashed out again by taking over an opposition-run public transportation company in Belgrade, the Yugoslav and Serbian capital. The decision to take the Belgrade City Transport company from the opposition-run municipal authorities came after a four-day strike by private carriers that brought public transportation in the capital to a virtual halt. The takeover was part of a campaign by Milosevic’s government to discredit the opposition ahead of municipal elections due by the end of the year. The government seized Belgrade’s main Studio B television and B2-92 radio May 17. That move triggered a few days of protests but also revived traditional differences between Serbia’s opposition leaders, who could not agree on what to do in response.