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BELGRADE, Yugoslavia (AP) -- A leading Serbian opposition party said Tuesday it will not participate in an upcoming anti-government rally and a convention intended to assemble all opposition groups.
The Serbian Renewal Movement's announcement further deepened the rift between itself and the rival Alliance for Change, an umbrella coalition of Serbian opposition parties.
The two factions disagree over the best strategy to oust President Slobodan Milosevic. The Alliance demands Milosevic's outright resignation, while the Serbian Renewal Movement says elections are the only way to remove him without bloodshed.
``We don't believe in street protests as the way to topple Milosevic,'' said Ivan Kovacevic, a deputy leader of the Serbian Renewal Movement.
Kovacevic said the protests ``will only strengthen Milosevic's regime by dissipating the people's dissatisfaction.''
The Alliance plans a Sept. 21 rally in Belgrade, followed by daily protests.
The Alliance launched countrywide protests against Milosevic following a war with NATO that left the country impoverished, isolated and without control over the southern province of Kosovo, considered a cradle of Serb culture and religion.
The Alliance plans to hold a convention for opposition parties Thursday in Novi Sad, Serbia's second largest city. The parties are expected to adopt a declaration, spelling out positions on ``burning political and economic issues facing Serbia today,'' as well as a statement reiterating the incompetence of Milosevic's regime, the independent Fonet news agency reported.
Anti-Milosevic rallies in towns and cities throughout Serbia climaxed with a rally in August that drew up to 150,000 protesters from all opposition ranks, including the Serbian Renewal Movement.
But the rally served only to accentuate the rift between the two groups, undermining hopes for a single, united bloc to challenge Milosevic's communist-ultranationalist coalition.
``The only way to weaken Milosevic is by constant protests and demonstrations where the voice of the people will be distinctly heard,'' Zoran Djindjic, the leader of the Democratic Party -- part of the Alliance -- told a local television station.