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DATE=10/04/00

TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT

NUMBER=2-267459

TITLE=YUGOSLAVIA / ELECTION (L)

BYLINE=EVE CONANT

DATELINE=PRISTINA

CONTENT=

VOICED AT:

INTRO: Yugoslav authorities are trying to bring an end to a strike by thousands of coal miners who have downed their tools as part of a nationwide protest in support of opposition presidential candidate Vojislav Kostunica. V-O-A Correspondent Eve Conant in Pristina reports workers at the coal mines say truck loads of police and soldiers moved into the strike area on Wednesday after days of protests.

TEXT: Yugoslav police moved into the Kolubara mine to block striking workers from their protest in support of presidential candidate Vojislav Kostunica. Workers at the mine said police had entered the area and that miners had scattered in all directions to avoid confrontation. The independent Beta news agency said there was no violence.

Thousands of coal miners have downed their tools as part of a nationwide campaign of civil disobedience to protest a second round of voting called for October Eighth.

Opposition supporters say their candidate, Mr. Kostunica, already won in the first round on September 24th and are urging President Slobodan Milosevic to accept defeat and give up power peacefully.

They accuse Mr. Milosevic of rigging the vote and manipulating the electoral process in order to hold on to power by any means.

Yugoslav authorities said orders had been issued to arrest several opposition leaders and miners who ignored earlier appeals by Yugoslavia's army chief of staff to stop the protest.

Power cuts were reported in the capital, Belgrade, and in several opposition-run cities.

Demonstrations each day are bringing out tens of thousands of opposition supporters in Belgrade, Novi Sad, and other urban centers of Serbia. Yugoslavia's constitutional court says it plans to hold a public discussion on the opposition's allegations of electoral fraud and its demand to cancel the October Eighth runoff.

President Milosevic, however, has insisted a second round will take place, despite domestic and international pressure for him to step down.

Bulgaria has joined a growing list of Western and European countries calling on President Milosevic to leave office. Foreign Minister Nadezhda Mihailova said that by his actions, Mr. Milosevic, in her words, puts himself above the law and democratic order and is pushing Yugoslavia toward violence. (Signed)

NEB/EC/KL/JWH