Leaders to face confidence vote

Press, 12 October 1988, Page 10

Leaders to face confidence vote

NZPA-Reuter Belgrade State and party leaders in Yugoslavia’s Montenegro republic have decided to face a vote of confidence after protesters demanded their resignation on accusations of police ityRegional leaders angered workers and students on Saturday by sending paramilitary forces armed with clubs and tear-gas to break up a rally in Titograd, the regional capital. In Niksic, Radivoje Brajovic, a member of the Montenegro state leadership and its former president, resigned in tears on Monday before an angry crowd of workers, as warnings of a possible national emergency declaration failed to dampen unrest throughout the Communist Balkan country. About 30,000 workers crowded into the assembly yard of the Boris Kidric iron works. Some jeered at Mr Brajovic from rooftops and windows. Allegations of police brutality towards demonstrators at the week-end prompted thousands of secondary school pupils to stage protests and thousands of university students went on hunger strike. Other factories in the area held protest strikes. The Yugoslav President, Raif Diz-

darevic, warned the 23 million Yugoslavs in a televised address that the wave of political unrest sweeping the country may soon lead to a state of emergency. Montenegro’s eight-member state presidency and regional Communist Party Politburo issued a statement on Monday announcing a vote of confidence, but no date has been set. The region’s parliament would judge how state leaders had dealt with the protests, while the local party central committee would judge party leaders. A vote of confidence would follow. The same would then happen at lower levels of administration in Montenegro. All the other seven republics and provinces in the Yugoslav federation, except Serbia, sent messages to Montenegro supporting its use of paramilitary forces. Some regions blamed Serbia for stirring up unrest in Montenegro in order to win support for constitutional reforms which would strengthen Serbia’s hand in gaining control of its two autonomous provinces, Vojvodina and Kosovo. Serbia said in a statement late on Monday that the allegations were untrue, unacceptable, and malicious.