Milosevic spoke after the opposition launched what it hoped would be a nationwide campaign to force the president to accept electoral defeat by Vojislav Kostunica. The opposition has vowed to keep up the general strike until Milosevic accepts what it called a crushing defeat at the polls. The protests represented the most extensive strikes ever waged against Milosevic, with no corner of the country left untouched. Participation appeared strongest in the industrial heartland south of Belgrade, where the government's failure to extinguish independent media enabled the opposition to coordinate actions. Protests were less effective in Belgrade, where steady rain and lack of an independent media may have discouraged people from taking to the streets.
People are ready to start building a new country.
The opposition believes Kostunica received more than 50 percent of the vote. Most Western powers appear to accept the opposition claim. But Russia, a traditional Serb ally, has said a second round of elections was legitimate. Over the weekend, workers in vital coal and copper mines locked themselves in to prevent the police from taking over the facilities, both essential to the economy. Stoppages at coal mines serving Serbia's two biggest thermal power plants have struck at the heart of Yugoslavia's struggling economy.