document: The government of the northern republic of Slovenia said Friday that Serbia , in the south and east , is attempting to `` oust us from Yugoslavia . '' The statement from the Slovenian presidency followed Serbia 's decision Tuesday to ban all political and economic contacts with Slovenia . Liberal , prosperous Slovenia and the hard-line communist leadership of Serbia have been feuding for years . But the Serbian action Tuesday was the gravest threat to the unity of the Yugoslav federation since the death of the nation 's post-World War II leader Josip Broz Tito in 1980 . Earlier Friday 13 people were arrested when police dispersed a crowd of about 100 gathered for a pro-Serbian rally in Ljubljana that had been prohibited by Slovenian authorities . Slovenia issued an order Tuesday banning the rally and Serbia reacted by severing relations with Slovenia . In its statement , Slovenia 's collective presidency called Serbia 's action `` a flagrant violation of all constitutional , legal and civilized norms . '' `` We shall never permit anyone to drive us away or oust us from Yugoslavia , '' it said . `` Yugoslavia is our country . We have the right to be citizens of the Socialist Republic of Slovenia and also to be different . Those who do not acknowledge this separate themselves from the federal state . '' It denounced the Serbian communist leadership , saying , `` We do not accept a comprehensive control of a single truth , of political uniformity , authoritarianism and intolerance , of ideologic monolithism . '' Serbia is the largest of Yugoslavia 's six republics . Aleksandar Prlja , Serbia 's secretary for foreign affairs , told The Associated Press that Slovenia 's `` banning of the peaceful rally was deeply humiliating for the Serbian people . `` This is irreconcilable with joint existence in a federal state . '' Slovenian officials said the rally had been organized by Serbian politicians trying to oust the Slovenian leadership . Economic decline has brought increased friction between the republics with their different ethnic populations , and the Slovenian Serbian conflict also involves liberal vs. conservative communist leaders . Slovenia advocates regional autonomy and has legalized opposition groups that will contest the region 's first multi-party balloting in elections next spring . Serbia insists on a centralized federtion with the Communist Party the only official party . The Serbian news media on Friday accused Slovenia of `` fascist-like '' behavior and called for the resignation of Yugoslav President Janez Drnovsek , a Slovene . Delo , Ljubljana 's major newspeper , said Friday 's rally was `` an integral part of a plan to alter by force the Yugoslav federation . It was yet another attempt to bring Slovenia to its knees . '' It called Serbia 's imposition of an economic boycott a `` declaration of war '' and said Slovenia would respond by `` opening itself to the world , introducing greater democracy and by holding free elections . ''
extractive_keyphrases: slovenian presidency economic contacts serbian action yugoslav federation economic boycott regional autonomy slovenian serbian conflict
abstractive_keyphrases: pro-serbian rally hard-line communist leadership