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(5 Oct 2000) Natural Sound XFA Demonstrators took control of parliament, hurling pictures of Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic into the streets, and police fought protesters amid clouds of tear gas Thursday, as hundreds of thousands of people swarmed Belgrade to demand that Milosevic accept electoral defeat. Amid what was the largest anti-Milosevic protest since his 13-year rule began, fires burned inside the parliament building and the state-run television headquarters, one of Milosevic's propaganda mainstays. Demonstrators who stormed parliament quickly established control of the building, with police fleeing or surrendering. Protesters said dozens of police at the state TV building and at federal parliament had joined crowds taking control of both buildings. Shots were heard outside the TV studio. A bulldozer apparently commandeered by demonstrators then broke into the building, and demonstrators poured inside. Police fled out the back. Meanwhile, clashes spread through the streets of the capital, which echoed with the sound of stun grenades and tear gas fired to break up the crowds. Witnesses say dozens were injured and “several dozen“ were admitted to emergency wards. The melees erupted at the start of a huge rally called by the opposition, to force Milosevic to accept electoral defeat in the Sept. 24 election. Hundreds of thousands of people had assembled in Belgrade, and tens of thousands more were seen streaming into the city. By late afternoon, opposition supporters who had been inside the parliament building were climbing through the windows and onto the complex's balconies, waving flags as the crowd roared below. Inside the parliament building, chaos reigned. Gangs of young people, many of them intoxicated, were roaming the building, smashing furniture and computers and looting the rooms. Documents were strewn on the floor, along with pictures of regime officials in broken frames. But police offered little resistance and the clashes ebbed. Afterward, crowds of demonstrators, some drunk and brandishing handguns, roamed the streets. A few ambulances were seen trying to take injured policemen to the hospital. Crowds of drunken youths could be seen stopping them and demanding the ambulance crews hand over the injured officers. “At this moment, terror rules in Belgrade,“ the pro-Milosevic government television said in a commentary. “They are attacking everyone they see on the streets and there is chaos.“ Afterward, the station switched to music videos. Downtown, five police cars were set afire in the front of the parliament. The violence spread to several police stations, with demonstrators seen taking over at least two of them. Dozens of demonstrators escorted about a dozen terrified policemen who had surrendered at the TV building. The officers huddled together, and when the demonstrators asked them whether they liked Milosevic more than their own country, the policemen started shouting “Serbia! Serbia!“ Some policemen were seen discarding their uniforms and fleeing. Others were seen embracing demonstrators. Downtown Belgrade was a mass of people, many streaming toward the parliament building and blocking traffic as they did so. People in the crowd waved flags, shouted and jostled each other in the streets. Many wore paper caps with the slogan, “We'll Endure.“ They moved past shops, some shut down with signs stating, “Closed because of Robbery“ - an allusion to opposition claims that Milosevic stole the elections. Thousands more people joined smaller rallies in towns throughout the country. Find out more about AP Archive: Twitter: Facebook: Instagram: You can license this story through AP Archive:
