KOSOVO ALBANIAN PROTESTS PASS PEACEFULLY

( Editorial: --> 8220 ) PRISTINA, March 9 (Hina) - Hundreds of thousands of Kosovo Albanians across the Yugoslav province on Monday demonstrated against violence, war and Serbian terror. The protest between 11am and 11.30am - organised by the Kosovo Coordination Committee of Albanian political parties, unions and student organisations - passed peacefully, despite the heavy presence of police forces. Protesters in Pristina shouted "We are not terrorists" and "Drenica, Drenica, we are with you, Drenica", and carried placards with messages including "Stop Ethnic Cleansing", "Stop Serbian Terror", "Our life we give, Kosovo we do not give" and "Freedom, independence; USA, we are waiting for your help". They carried American flags and pictures of their leader Ibrahim Rugova. The peaceful demonstrations in the provincial capital were followed by Pristina's American Information Centre director Richard Huckaby and many foreign diplomats as well as a large number of domestic and foreign reporters. Peaceful Albanian protests for peace and against violence and Serbian terror were held in all Kosovo municipalities and, according to several assessments, the largest mass rally in the past nine years was held in Pristina. According to sources in the field, the police thwarted protesters in several municipalities before they could gather and intervened in Istok, Klina and Pec. (Hina) jn mb /ha 091346 MET mar 98