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the white house is also keeping a close watch on yugoslavia, where 
opposition forces are about to step up the pressure on president slobodan 
milosevic. but will it work? nbc's jim maceda is in belgrade tonight. 
serbia on the eve of a general strike. this two-hour roadblock is 
just a taste of what will come tomorrow, says the opposition, when 
a nationwide work stoppage is to begin. the purpose, to force out 
the man they say stole the presidential election, slobodan milosevic. 
the people don't accept to be victim and to be hostage of one person, 
milosevic. time is working against him now. but will the pressure 
work? four years ago, hundreds of thousands of serbs marched against 
milosevic calling for a general strike as well. the protest lasted 
three months, but milosevic survived. that's the real question. does 
the opposition have the power to confront the regime with its combined 
wealth to get rid of it? a case in point. these coal mine, the very 
heart of serbia's economy, now on strike, only a handful of workers 
guarding equipment. but with a week of electricity reserves, these 
engineers are worried about blackouts. "we're just making a gesture 
to try to make this regime come to its senses." there are difficulties, 
too, spreading the word about the strike. independent radio station 
b-292 has been shut down three times. its signal jammed in belgrade 
leaving journalists frustrated. i'm waiting for a better time when 
people in belgrade can hear and listening my radio. poorly organized 
opposition rallies have been shrinking, now drawing barely 10,000 
in belgrade. but opposition leaders hope all that will change tomorrow 
and civil disobedience throughout the land may give new life to their 
struggle to oust milosevic. jim maceda, nbc news, belgrade.