March 14, 1998
Opposition parties in Serbia say they are against the international sanctions imposed on Yugoslavia, following a security operation in the Serbian province of Kosovo last week in which at least eighty ethnic Albanians were killed.
The opposition parties say the new measures adopted on Friday by the European Union will hurt ordinary Serbs while strengthening the political position of President Slobodan Milosevic. The BBC Belgrade correspondent says members of the opposition and Serbian intellectuals disagree with President Milosevic's handling of the crisis, but approve his rejection of independence for Kosovo.
Western governments also oppose Kosovo's full independence, but have urged the Yugoslav authorites to give the region more autonomy.
