The World - News from Sept. 19, 1988

New rallies against alleged persecution by ethnic Albanians drew an estimated 80,000 Yugoslavs, with some protesters threatening armed rebellion if the government fails to end the strife in Kosovo province. An estimated 50,000 people gathered in Niksic, in south Yugoslavia--one of the biggest protests since a wave of Serbian nationalist demonstrations began two months ago. Protesters urged Yugoslav leaders to end alleged persecution of ethnic Serbs and other Slavs in Kosovo, an autonomous province of Yugoslavia’s biggest republic, Serbia. Some of the protesters shouted “We want arms!” and “Better graves than slaves!” In Cetinje, once the capital of Montenegro, about 30,000 protesters gathered for a similar rally.