Milosevic greets anti-NATO protesters

Milosevic's regime prompted NATO to attack.

BELGRADE, Yugoslavia -- Ousted Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic has made a rare public appearance in Belgrade to greet demonstrators who staged an anti-NATO rally.

Crowds gathered in central Belgrade for the rally organised by Milosveic's Socialist party, and some demonstrators marched to the former leader's suburban home.

Milosevic, in a dark blue suit, walked for several minutes among a few hundred supporters who shook his hand or kissed him.

They chanted "Slobo, we will not give you up."

Saturday's rally was organised to denounce the air war against Yugoslavia that began two years to the day.

The international community is demanding that Milosevic should be handed over to the U.N. war crimes tribunal in The Hague, which has indicted him for crimes against humanity committed in Kosovo in 1998-99.

"It's not enough that he is not in power any more, it's too much for them (his opponents) that he is free," a young socialist told the rally.

NATO forces waged war against Yugoslavia from March 24 to June 12, 1999, in an attempt to halt the repression of ethnic Albanians in the southern province of Kosovo by the security forces of then President Milosevic.

Many of the country's new leaders, particularly President Vojislav Kostunica, have made clear they consider the NATO bombing a criminal act.

Around 5,000 people turned up for the rally held under the motto "We must not forget, this must not happen again." Some carried portraits of the long-time Serb leader.

The rally was held in Republic Square, known for huge anti-Milosevic gatherings by his opponents while he was in power. Milosevic conceded electoral defeat to reformists after a mass uprising last October after a decade in power.

As loudspeakers blared with patriotic songs, the crowd of around 5,000 people chanted "NATO fascists," "treason, treason," in a reference to new Yugoslav authorities led by Kostunica.

At a separate occasion, Kostunica marked the anniversary by attending a memorial service at the Orthodox St. Marko's church.

Reuters contributed to this report.

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Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
International War Crimes Tribunal
NATO

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