Head of Church Leads Serb March

BELGRADE, Yugoslavia — In solemn silence that contrasted with months of raucous political protests, tens of thousands of people marched Monday in the Serbian capital’s largest religious procession since World War II.

Riot police quietly withdrew to allow the head of the Serbian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Pavle, to lead the early morning procession through the streets of Belgrade.

The outpouring of national sentiment followed 10 weeks of peaceful protest against President Slobodan Milosevic for annulling Nov. 17 opposition victories in local elections in 14 cities.

Later in the day, a Belgrade district court for the second time overturned an electoral commission ruling that the opposition won an overwhelming majority of seats on the capital’s City Council.