Yugoslav opposition election call

The student opposition movement Otpor is joining the rally

Serbia's main opposition groups are staging a rally in the Yugoslav capital Belgrade on Friday to demand early elections.

The demonstration will be the first since the main opposition parties overcame their differences in January this year and agreed to a joint strategy aimed at overthrowing President Milosevic.

With the motto "Stop the violence - For free elections", the rally in the central Republic Square is expected to last about three hours.

Organisers are hoping for a big turnout

Although the gathering has not been banned by the authorities, anti-riot police in buses and vans were seen driving along Belgrade's longest avenue on Friday morning.

The rally will be the first joint protest since last August, when more than 100,000 people gathered to demand President Milosevic's resignation.

Turning point

The opposition Alliance for Change leaders told a news conference on Thursday that the demonstration would be a turning point for the opposition, and would mark the beginning of daily action to exert pressure on the authorities.

Local elections are currently due in the second half of 2000, national elections in September 2001 and a presidential ballot in December 2002.

President Milosevic's government has so far dismissed demands to bring them forward.

The authorities in Belgrade have refused entry to a number of foreign journalists who arrived to report on Friday's demonstration.

The six journalists, as well as three trade union representatives from Spain, were reported to have been confined to Belgrade airport after being told to take the first flight home.