Serbo-Croat/Nat Serbian opposition leaders and representatives of Kosovo Serbs have held a meeting on Saturday at the "All Serb Convention" in Pristina. They criticized the policies of Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic and the agreement he reached with U-S envoy Richard Holbrooke on Oct. 12. Milosevic has promised to accede to a U-N edict that Serbian forces should withdraw from Kosovo province to avoid air strikes. Momcilo Trajkovic, leader of the Serbs in Kosovo, has said that Milosevic's decision to pull out his troops has reduced his followers to second class citizens. At the "All Serb Convention" in Pristina on Saturday, Serbian leaders met to voice their disapproval of President Slobodan Milosevic and the agreement he reached with United States envoy Richard Holbrooke last month. The meeting began with delegates standing as the Serb national anthem was played. Some of the delegates urged those present to strive for a peaceful solution to the area's deep divisions. Serbian Bishop Artemije told the meeting that while there were right and wrong elements on both sides, only through dialogue would a solution be found. SOUNDBITE: (Serbian) "Unfortunately, both sides used force at first, and there were lots of victims on both sides, innocent victims. We sincerely regret that, and it should have not happened. We always said that since every war ends with negotiating, it is better to negotiate before the war." SUPER CAPTION: Bishop Artemije But the bishop's words fell on many deaf ears. Kosovo Serbian Resistance leader Momcilo Trajkovic told his audience that the Holbrooke plan held nothing for Serbs in any part of the former Yugoslavia. Kosovo Serbs generally resent the idea of the police pull-out and fear that they would not be protected from further attacks by Kosovo's ethnic Albanian separatists. Trajkovic outlined his objections. SOUNDBITE: (Serbian) "We said before that the Milosevic-Holbrooke agreement is very unfavourable for the state of Serbia, for the Kosovo Serbs and the entire Serb nation." SUPER CAPTION: Momcilo Trajkovic, president of the Kosovo Serbian Resistance Movement He went further, saying Serbs in the region would see their status downgraded by the latest moves. SOUNDBITE: (Serbian) "With this agreement, we Serbs from Kosovo will become second-rate citizens." SUPER CAPTION: Momcilo Trajkovic, president of the Kosovo Serbian Resistance Movement Other delegates believed that the peaceful future of the region could be preserved by creating separate enclaves for its ethnic groups. SOUNDBITE: (Serbian) "I think that it is not good to apply the principle of ethnic division of the police and judiciary on the whole issue of Kosovo. That would sidetrack Kosovo Serbs in this very sensitive situation. Our proposition is to cantonise Kosovo and Metohija, like it was suggested for Bosnia in the Vance-Owen's plan 1993 peace proposal for Bosnia by Lord Owen & Cyrus Vance, in order to provide a self-rule for the ethnic community of Kosovo Serbs." SUPER CAPTION: Zoran Djindjic, leader of the Democratic Party convention Violence in Kosovo is growing despite a de-facto peace treaty designed to end bloodshed in the turbulent Serbian province. Five suspected ethnic Albanian guerrillas died on Friday in a shootout with Serb police, according to a Serb media statement. Two other ethnic Albanians had been killed on Thursday afternoon. Negotiators hoped the agreement would set the stage for a political agreement between Serb authorities and Kosovo's majority Albanians - but it has yet to yield such results. You can license this story through AP Archive: www.aparchive.com/metadata/youtube/f0607bee2d13b717e3e9d5dc02c2e6db Find out more about AP Archive: www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork

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