The Mike Is Mightier Than The Sword

BELGRADE: The standoff over the TV station in the Serbian town of Kragujevac ended Friday in compromise, but not before more than a dozen people were injured when police attacked protesters trying to block the main highway leading to Belgrade. The deal, struck between opposition leaders and representatives of Slobodan Milosevic's Socialist government, will allow a Serbian court to decide who will run the city's media. Until then, both the TV and the radio stations will refrain from broadcasting political news. Who will run the media is now a major point of controversy between the two sides as Milosevic moves toward accepting the results in some of the 14 cities that voted for the opposition on Nov. 17. Even in towns where opposition leaders have been allowed to take power, Milosevic's propaganda mills have flooded the airwaves with pro-Socialist messages. The opposition has been stepping up its actions against Milosevic in the past week in response, trying to wrestle the media from his grasp. Roads throughout the country have been blockaded, resulting in sporadic outbreaks of violence. While Milosevic has made it quite clear he will not relinquish his control over the media without a fight, the opposition vows it will not be deterred by the threat of violence. ""The whole of Serbia has risen," said opposition leader Zoran Djindjic. "We must not lose on any front, in Belgrade or anywhere else in Serbia." Film at 11.