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Close To 2,000 Rally For Milosevic In Belgrade
BELGRADE, April 14 (News Agencies) - Some 2,000 loyalists of Slobodan Milosevic staged a rally Saturday to demand his release from prison, a day after the ex-Yugoslav president returned to his jail cell following a hospital stay due to a heart complaint.
Shouting "Free Milosevic," the protesters turned out in front of the Serbian government building at the calling of his Socialist Party of Serbia (SPS), carrying photos of the former strongman.
Some waved placards saying "Arrest me I am also Slobodan," a pun on his first name which means "free" in Serbian.
The mainly elderly demonstrators peacefully marched toward the Belgrade district court where they planned to deliver a written declaration calling for Milosevic's release.
When no one emerged from the building to receive the document, SPS supporters told reporters they would launch a petition drive to demand his release on bail pending trial.
A judge ruled Friday that Milosevic, who has been jailed since April 1st facing charges of abuse of power and corruption, should return to prison after a team of doctors who had examined him reported that the former leader was fit to be discharged.
Milosevic was sent back to the same cell he had occupied before he was rushed to hospital late Wednesday complaining of chest pains.
Carrying Serbian and Yugoslav flags, the crowd warmly welcomed SPS officials who said that Milosevic should have been allowed to remain in hospital.
"With the arrest of our friend and president Slobodan Milosevic, they would like to erase a part of our history and force us to be ashamed of it," Zivorad Igic, SPS official told protesters.
"They have arrested a man who has become a symbol of the fight for a national freedom, but [Serbia] is priceless and we will defend it at any price, same as we will defend Slobodan."
"We think that the doctors were politically pressured" to release Milosevic, 59, from the hospital and send him back to prison, Slavica Djukic-Dejanovic of the Socialist Party told reporters before the demonstration.
She said that Milosevic's health was "still seriously in danger."
A prison source said Thursday that Milosevic had suffered a minor heart attack, but doctors reported they found no evidence of heart disease.
The SPS released a statement early Saturday charging that Milosevic's health had worsened since he was hospitalized, blaming prison conditions.
He occupies a cell in the VIP wing of Belgrade's central prison, nicknamed the Hyatt after the luxury hotel chain, complete with coffee and tea service and a space heater. His wife and daughter visit him regularly.
Meanwhile, Milosevic's lawyer, Toma Fila, told the daily Vcernje Novosti that the district prosecutor had "no evidence" in the case against Milosevic, saying that the depositions against him were insufficient for a trial.
Reformers ousted Milosevic last October in general elections.
He was forced to concede defeat after a popular uprising against him and his cronies, many of whom are also facing criminal probes on abuse of power charges.
Milosevic has also been indicted by the war crimes tribunal in The Hague for offenses allegedly committed during the 1998-99 Kosovo conflict. The Dutch-based court has been pressuring Belgrade to extradite him.
The rally came one week after about 2,000 Milosevic supporters demonstrated in Belgrade for his release.
Although impassioned, the demonstrations have paled in comparison to the rallies staged while Milosevic was still in power, in which hundreds of thousands were regularly bussed in to Belgrade to cheer the former president.
The SPS, which Milosevic still heads, claims to have 300,000 party members.
Supporters said another pro-Milosevic rally would be held next Saturday in Serbia's second city, Novi Sad.
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