Serbian Renewal Movement president Vuk Draskovic said that March 9, the 19th anniversary of the massive 1991 protest against the Slobodan Milosevic regime, was the right opportunity to say that the loss of Kosovo, produced by Milosevic, could on no account turn into losing the European Union too.

"March 9 is an opportunity to say that we will not acquiesce to further defeats and losses of Serbia. The Kosovo frustrations and the loss of Kosovo, which Slobodan Milosevic caused by his policy, must on no account turn into a loss of the EU," Draskovic said at Trg Republike Square, where, he said, 19 years ago, ten years of revolt against the Milosevic regime began.

"The EU, unconditionally and as soon as possible, that is the demand, the conviction of all those who, from March 9 until Oct. 5, 2000 fought and gave of themselves for a European, new, better and democratic Serbia," Draskovic said.

"Today the vast majority of participants in the demonstrations that had 19 years ago sparked a ten-year revolt against Milosevic's regime are disappointed. They are disappointed because those very people -- the youth of that time, the world of small businesses, the middle class, farmers, workers, turned out to be the biggest victims of the democratic transition," the leader of the Serbian Renewal Movement said.

According to him, because of the people who proclaimed that they were experts on Oct. 5 and who conducted backward developmental, economic and tax policies, those who had fought the battle against Milosevic had suffered, while war profiteers, smugglers and tycoons have profited, and went on to become economic and political overlords.

The president and officials of the Serbian Renewal Movement laid flowers at a monument at Trg Republike Square in remembrance of "fallen heroes." The demonstrations of tens of thousands of people claimed the lives of student Branivoj Milinovic and police officer Nedeljko Kosovic, while more than 200 protesters were injured.