LOCAL SERBS CELEBRATE FALL OF MILOSEVIC MANY PLAN HOMELAND VISITS.Byline: Jason Kandel Staff Writer Serbs in the San Fernando Valley San Fernando Valley Valley, southern California, U.S. Northwest of central Los Angeles, the valley is bounded by the San Gabriel, Santa Susana, and Santa Monica mountains and the Simi Hills. area celebrated Friday the end of the 13-year reign of the Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic. ``I am so happy I want to scream, I want to cry, I want to cry, I want to laugh,'' said Mirjana Van Blaricom, 50, of Sherman Oaks. ``We're celebrating. Two friends called me, drunk. I have gotten so many calls and so much e-mail that I cannot read it all. I'm absolutely ecstatic ec·stat·ic adj. 1. Marked by or expressing ecstasy. 2. Being in a state of ecstasy; joyful or enraptured. [French extatique, from Greek ekstatikos, from .'' Local Serbs planned celebrations at Orthodox churches across the Southland south·land or South·land n. A region in the south of a country or an area. south  land·er n.Noun 1. on Sunday to link arms with fellow Serbs, many of whom said the removal of Milosevic is the first major step in shedding a decades-old iron grip of tyranny Tyranny Big Brother omnipresent leader of a totalitarian nightmare world. [Br. Lit.: 1984] Creon rules Thebes with cruel decrees. [Gk. Lit.: Antigone] Gessler Austrian governor treats Swiss despotically; shot by Tell. in the region. Van Blaricom's eyes have been glued for several days to her television set to watch the latest news of the political upheaval overseas. The president of an international press academy based in Beverly Hills Beverly Hills, city (1990 pop. 31,971), Los Angeles co., S Calif., completely surrounded by the city of Los Angeles; inc. 1914. The largely residential city is home to many motion-picture and television personalities. , Van Blaricom said she will fly Sunday to Yugoslavia to celebrate with her family and friends and to interview the new president, opposition leader Vojisla Kostunica. ``Kostunica is a wonderful human being,'' she said. ``I think he'll be a good president. And he's not a war criminal.'' Misko Sekulic, 32, of Sherman Oaks sensed a move toward freedom was imminent when he visited his family in Belgrade last month. Yet he was surprised that Milosevic's loyal Serbian police units held their fire as massive throngs of protesters filled the streets of Belgrade this week. ``People were sick of Milosevic,'' he said. ``The spirit was there. It was time for him to go. I couldn't believe it that Milosevic didn't do anything with the military and the police. They finally realized whose side they should be on.'' While optimistic op·ti·mist n. 1. One who usually expects a favorable outcome. 2. A believer in philosophical optimism. op , Sekulic predicts Kostunica will have a difficult time rejuvenating the battle-weary region. ``Kostunica is taking over from scraps,'' he said. ``He doesn't have anything to build from. He's stuck with debts. There's no economy. The country doesn't have anything working. There are no factories. He'll have a difficult time digging the country out of the rubble left by a communist dictator dictator, originally a Roman magistrate appointed to rule the state in times of emergency; in modern usage, an absolutist or autocratic ruler who assumes extraconstitutional powers. From 501 B.C. until the abolition of the office in 44 B.C., Rome had 88 dictators. .'' Beba Petkovic, 48, a Van Nuys homemaker, left her Belgrade home and came to the Valley in 1977, and visits her family in Belgrade every two to four years. She was on the phone with her family and friends in Belgrade most of the day Friday. ``I've been constantly hearing what's going on What's Going On is a record by American soul singer Marvin Gaye. Released on May 21, 1971 (see 1971 in music), What's Going On reflected the beginning of a new trend in soul music. there. We are so happy,'' she said. ``I am very glad that Kostunica won and we are going to be free.'' She looks forward to going to Yugoslavia for two months this summer to visit friends. ``When I arrived in the airport in Yugoslavia, I used to see a lot of sad faces,'' she said. ``This time I hope to see more happy faces.'' |
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