KRAGUJEVAC, Yugoslavia - Violent clashes erupted here yesterday as newly installed officials from the opposition sought to take charge of this city's television station but were blocked from doing so by the regime of Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic.
After angry crowds gathered to demand that the station be turned over in Kragujevac - the largest city that Milosevic has allowed to pass to opposition hands - Milosevic's heavily armed riot police beat dozens of demonstrators and used bulldozers to move cars that blocked city access roads in protest.
The dispute over media goes to the very heart of the 67-day-old protest against Milosevic and his decision to annul opposition electoral victories in Serbia, which, with tiny Montenegro, makes up the rump Yugoslavia.
For the opposition, control of City Hall means access to electronic media that is run and censored by Milosevic or his allies. And that access is considered crucial to the opposition's ability to run in future elections, build a party base and crack Milosevic's iron grip on power.
"By losing TV and radio, Milosevic would lose part of his media dictatorship," said Vidosav Stevanovic, a Serbian writer who has been designated head of the television station by the new opposition government. "The moment he loses media, he loses power. His regime is based only on media and police."
The struggle over control of media in Kragujevac began Wednesday when Stevanovic and the new mayor, Veroljub Stevanovic, who is not related to Vidosav, attempted to enter the building housing the television and radio stations.
They were confronted by police who occupied the premises and men in civilian dress who claimed to represent the Milosevic-controlled state television network. Vidosav Stevanovic and Veroljub Stevanovic were ordered out, crowds gathered, and a tense standoff continued until yesterday morning.
Yesterday afternoon, the Belgrade government dispatched a delegation to "negotiate" the status of the television station - a move widely seen as an effort to stall.
Increasingly angry demonstrators blocked streets into the city, and, as they sat in roads, the protesters were attacked by truncheon-wielding police.
At least 15 people were injured, including a federal legislator reported to have sustained a serious concussion.
The Associated Press reported its television news crew also was roughed up and its film confiscated by police.
Under Socialist rule, the main television and radio stations in Kragujevac, as in many Serbian cities, belonged to the city government.
Once it became clear, however, that the opposition had won Nov. 17 municipal elections in this industrial city 100 miles south of Belgrade, the outgoing authorities attempted to transfer the television and radio to the Milosevic-controlled state broadcasting system.
Employees of the Kragujevac station were then obliged to sign a petition saying they wanted to belong to the state network, Vidosav Stevanovic said.
"There was no pressure - they just told us, 'Sign or be fired,' " said one employee who signed the petition.
The Zajedno, or Together, opposition coalition, which has been leading daily demonstrations in Belgrade and elsewhere to protest Milosevic's handling of the elections, won a clear majority in Kragujevac in November.
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Unlike other cities, Milosevic allowed the results here to stand, possibly because of the strength of the opposition here.
One of the new officials' main concerns is that outgoing Socialists will attempt to loot the equipment at the television and radio offices, estimated to be worth about $3.65 million.
Mayor Stevanovic said that since assuming office Dec. 25, his government has discovered evidence of money laundering by the Socialists while they were in office, as well as a rash of last-minute transfers out of city accounts just after the electoral defeat.
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Last night, thousands of demonstrators were screaming, chanting and blowing whistles outside the Kragujevac City Hall, while inside the two Stevanovices and other city officials negotiated with the representatives from Belgrade.
The Kragujevac officials' demands include removal of the special police from the television station premises and a speedy resolution to the dispute in the courts.
Late yesterday, Kragujevac officials said Belgrade had rejected their demands but invited them to negotiate further today in the capital - a move likely aimed at buying time.
Vidosav Stevanovic said he will attend the negotiations in Belgrade - the capital of both Serbia and Yugoslavia.
AP PHOTO
A Serbian protester waves a Serbian Renewal Movement Flag yesterday during a blockade in the road in the Serbian industrial town of Kragujevac.