Date: Fri, 30 Apr 1999 17:40:31 -0400 From: Chuck Munson <chuck-AT-tao.ca> 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. ©1999 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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