PRISTINA, Yugoslavia around 10,000 Kosovo Albanians marched through Pristina on Saturday to protest against repression by Serb forces. The protestors, who included medical staff, unfurled long banners calling for the respect of international conventions for the sick and wounded and demanded authorization for humanitarian organizations to be able to enter regions attacked by Serb forces. Carrying U.S. and Albanian flags, the demonstrators shouted Freedom, Independence as well as Rugova the Kosovo Albanian leader and UCK, the underground Kosovo Liberation Army. The demonstration ended after about half an hour and passed off without incident.

On Friday, Kosovo Albanian leader Ibrahim Rugova held his first face to face talks with Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic, during which they agreed regular weekly talks should begin next Friday. One of Rugova's closest aides on Saturday called for a repression of Serb violence as a guarantee of the talks' success. I hope that the meeting between Milosevic and Rugova will encourage the pacifist rather than the militant forces, added Fehmi Agani, speaking in Pristina. While predicting that talks would be lengthy and laborious, Agani contended that by showing our will to maintain political contact with Milosevic, we can only retain the support of the international community which we have already won.

(AFP)