Date: Fri, 30 Apr 1999 17:40:31 -0400
Subject: Protesters send NATO convoy astray


Protesters send NATO convoy astray 

               Friday, April 30, 1999

               ASSOCIATED PRESS

               SALONICA, Greece - Dozens of NATO trucks on their way to
the
               Macedonian border got lost and ended up at a Greek
vegetable
               market yesterday because protesters removed road signs.

               The trucks were part of a British convoy carrying
military
               containers and vehicles from Greece's northern port of
Salonica.

               NATO had marked the 38-mile route to the border but
locals
               removed some of the signs to protest NATO's airstrikes
against
               Yugoslavia and the new traffic through Salonica.

               About 50 of 200 trucks took the wrong turn before leaving
the
               city, said British forces spokesman Maj. Ian Seraph. They
wound
               up at a wholesale vegetable market, from where they had
to be
               escorted to the border by Greek police.

               "This was an effort to prove to NATO that the people of
Salonica
               and of Greece are against the bombings," said Agapis
Sahinis,
               one of the protesters. "We wanted to get the message
across in
               a humorous way."

               Greeks maintain friendly ties with fellow Orthodox Serbs
in
               Yugoslavia, and there have been almost daily
demonstrations
               around the country against the alliance's air campaign.

               There also have been widespread protests against the
               movement of NATO troops through Salonica, the main supply
               point for the alliance's forces in Macedonia.

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