Greece Sides With Serbian Demonstrators

Pressure on Serbia’s president mounted Sunday as Greece’s foreign minister urged the government to accept opposition victories in local elections.

While Theodoros Pangalos of Greece met with Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic, tens of thousands of people rallied for the 54th straight day against court annulments of November election results.

Pangalos said the Serbian government must respect the Nov. 17 opposition victories. “This should happen immediately,” he said.

Serbian opposition leader Vuk Draskovic said the demonstrations will end when Milosevic’s Socialist party acknowledges defeats in Serbia’s 14 largest cities.

The political crisis in Belgrade began in November when Serbian authorities loyal to Milosevic threw out election results in 14 cities.

Elsewhere, Hungary also sided with the protesters Sunday, saying it is “unacceptable to attempt to eliminate rightful social claims by force.”