(9 May 1998) English/Nat
Thousands of Kosovo Albanians on Saturday staged a huge demonstration calling for independence for the troubled Yugoslav province.
The protest - which offered mass support for militants who are waging a violent struggle against Serbian rule - came as western nations took further action to try to get talks started on Kosovo.
The U-S sent two of its top envoys to meet President Slobodan Milosevic on Saturday afternoon.
And the major western powers imposed an investment ban on the former Yugoslavia because of its stance over the strife-torn province.
The 30th straight day of demonstrations was far larger than the usual rallies.
Around 20-thousand protestors marched through the streets of Pristina holding banners decrying Serbian rule and calling for the independence of the Serb-ruled Yugoslav province of Kosovo.
For the first time protestors chanted mass support for the militants who are waging an increasingly violent struggle against Serbian rule.
The shouted "UCK! UCK!", using the Albanian-language acronym for the Kosovo Liberation Army.
Albanians make up 90 per cent of Kosovo's two (m) million people.
Saturday's crowd gathered in the centre of Pristina and released doves of peace into the sky.
While the protest was taking place, Richard Holbrooke, who brokered an end to the Bosnian war, was expected to arrive with the special U-S envoy for the Balkans Robert Gelbard.
The visit comes hours after the U-S and other major powers tightened sanctions against Yugoslavia.
At a meeting in London the Contact Group responsible for action in the Balkans agreed to ban foreign investment there.
The group is trying to pressure Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic into opening a dialogue with ethnic Albanians in Kosovo.
A spokesman for the ethnic Albanian leader Ibrahim Rugova said the move was a step in the right direction, but further action was needed.
SOUNDBITE: (English)
"Kosovo is a question of international stability, it's a question of course of the Security Council and the Contact Group and European institutions, so London decisions (investment ban) are a good step but much more is needed."
SUPER CAPTION: Aljus Gasi, Ibrahim Rugova's assistant
Serbia, which sees Kosovo as the cradle of Serb Orthodox religion and culture, has rejected Albanian demands for foreign mediation to end the crisis.
Serbian police so far have kept control of major roads and towns.
But on Friday night they closed a major road, running from Pristina to Pec, near the border with Albania, after at least one Kosovo Albanian militant was killed and three Serbian policemen were wounded in gun battles.
It was the first time such a major artery had been shut off since February 28th, when Serbian police began a crackdown on Albanian militants that set off the current daily violence.
More than 150 people have been killed since then.
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