A woman protester opposing a water cannon, photo by Predrag Mitic
Sixteen years ago, 9th of March 1991 – Deveti mart in Serbian – big protests and demonstrations took place in the streets of Belgrade. This was the first sign that the citizens were not so satisfied with Milosevic’s rule, already after two years of his reign.
The reasons for this protest vary, however, and can be discussed. This was partly a protest against Milosevic and RTS, partly an antiwar protest, partly a protest against totalitarian regime and partly a protest because of visibly deteriorating life and economic conditions.
Protest was called by Vuk Draskovic, leader of Serbian Renewal Movement party, up to that point a minor party in the parliament. Protest was called upon because of a comment made about that party on TV dnevnik, daily news program under complete control of Milosevic and his party. This show was one of the key tools Milosevic used to control the masses during nineties and is still used as goverment’s shoutbox today, although not in so big way as before. The commentator said that opposition member were traitors and collaborating with Ustasa (how very original, don’t you think).
Nobody expected so many people to turn up, not even Vuk himself i suppose. Such a big crowd (estimated one hundred thousand people) was not so easy to control or fight off, so the police had to call the army to help and this was the first time Milosevic commanded the military tanks out on the streets of Belgrade, so the rebellion was stopped.
Epilogue: two people were killed that day, one protester and one policeman. Dozens of people were arrested and hundreds beaten up by the police. Even though it seemed then that the protest didn’t have any results, it has nevertheless managed to show that the critical mass exists and that the people will, if not then, and if not in five years from then, manage to throw Milosevic down some day.
Nine years later they did.
More videos from that day, by Abraxas:
Zoran Djindjic talking to the crowd in the evening hours of March 12th 1991(Serbian). On that day, twelve years later, he will be killed.
{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
Now it’s long overdue time to get rid of Vuk Draskovic. Serbia doesn’t need any more self-absorbed careerists.
17F3W
The initiative for the resignation of three editors was merely a ruse put up to enable Draskovic to stage a coup.
He exploited the rising nationalism and rose through the ranks of opposition thanks to his close ties with such notorious criminal figures of Vozdovac Cartel and influential expatriates of the post-WWII fugitive Chetnik diaspora.
Eventually, he founded the Serbian Guard, the first paramilitary group of Former Yugoslavia constantly emphasizing its “Serbian” as opposed to “Yugoslav” character and “royalist” as opposed to “communist” and even trying to legalize it seeking parliamentary approval. Draskovic kept emphasizing its nonpartisan and apolitical nature even though the group was always represented in public by the members of Draskovic’s party, Serbian Renewal Movement (SPO).
The commander of Serbian Guard, a great supporter of Draskovic and SPO and a prominent figure of Vozdovac Cartel, Djordje Bozovic – Giska in his addresses of his fellow guardsmen and Serbian public was far more inclined to make allegations and threats against the regime than against Crotian separatist forces that were, at least officially, supposed to be his real enemy.