THE threat by the United States of a return to full scale sanctions and calls by the Serb opposition leader, Mr Vuk Draskovic, for a nationwide protest have put further pressure on President Slobodan Milosevic to reinstate the results of local elections annulled last week.
But there was every indication yesterday that Mr Milosevic was digging in his heels in the hope that his opponents would lose their nerve.
Mr Draskovic, the most outspoken of the opposition leaders, told the nightly gathering of demonstrators that he was calling on teachers, judges, lawyers and doctors to join the protests and urging agricultural workers and truck drivers to follow the example of their French counterparts.
Of the two threats, the one from Mr Warren Christopher in Brussels is the more serious but even this may not be enough to get Mr Milosevic to give in.
The actions proposed by Mr Draskovic may prove self defeating. Workers and the trade unions, with the exception of Nezavisnost which claims 60,000 members, have so far stayed away from demonstrations; their failure to answer Mr Draskovic's call would be seen as a victory for Mr Milosevic. A proposed strike at a Belgrade tractor factory failed yesterday.
Mr Christopher told reporters in Brussels that he would discuss the possibility of renewing sanctions against Serbia with the Russian Foreign Minister, Mr Yevgeny Primakov, if the election results are not reinstated. But Russia has always been less than enthusiastic about sanctions against Serbia which it regards as traditional ally. The reimposition of sanctions would require a vote in the UN Security Council and it is likely Russia would veto such a proposal.
Mr Zoran Djindic, who would become mayor of Belgrade should Mr Milosevic change his stance, has called for talks. And Mr Alex Djilas, son of the celebrated anti regime communist, Mr Milovan Djilas, has accused the opposition of aiming too high. In an interview published in the newspaper Nash a Borba he said he believed the west would not support the removal of Mr Milosevic because it feared that some of the opposition were too nationalistic.
Last night's demonstration was attended by over 100,000 people, more than twice Sunday's figure, and was noticeable for a marked increase in the number of students, following the arrest and alleged beating of Mr Dejan Bulatovic (21) who had carried an effigy of Mr Milosevic in earlier parades.
While there have been no official statements from Mr Milosevic an indication of his mood was given by Ms Kati Marton of the US Committee to Protect Journalists, who claims he tore up a manifesto on press freedom she gave him to sign.
