A Chronology of Events
November 1996
On November
17, with a NATO force in Bosnia, elections are held for the Yugoslav
National Parliament. The opposition coalition, Zajedno ("Together")
wins in 32 municipalities, including Belgrade. On November 20 the
Electoral Commission calls for a recount in most of the areas won by the
opposition. On November 25 Milosevic annuls the election results,
prompting massive demonstrations, mostly nonviolent. On November 27
Milosevic holds a new election, boycotted by the opposition. The protests
grow in size.
December 1996
As hundreds of thousands demonstrate, Milosevic
invites international review of the election results. On December
27, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe tells
Serbia to reinstate the winners of the original elections or face
international isolation.
January 1997
Beleaguered by unremitting opposition in the
streets, Milosevic concedes defeat in the city of Nis, but opposition
leaders vow to continue demonstrations until all election results are
honored. On January 14, electoral commissions in Belgrade and
elsewhere call for further seating of elected representatives.
February 1997
On February 4, Milosevic announces he
will restore the opposition's victories in the November 17 elections.
Demonstrations continue, with protestors demanding election reform and
freedom for the media.
July 1997
Constitutionally barred from serving another term as
president of Serbia, Milosevic is elected president of Yugoslavia.
December 1997
In a contested election, Milosevic ally Milan
Milutinovic is declared the winner of a five-year term as president of
Serbia.
August 1998
After months of fighting, Milosevic's troops
defeat the Kosovo Liberation Army, which has been trying to win Kosovo's
independence. International attention has been focused on the
rebellion.
October 1998
A
Kosovo cease-fire is signed. The United Nations Security Council threatens
air strikes if Milosevic does not withdraw his troops. Once the threat
passes, Yugoslav troops reenter Kosovo. The violence resumes. In early
October in Belgrade, some dozen university students form a new organization
called Otpor ("resistance"). Initially they work for repeal of laws
putting the University under Socialist political control and imposing
restrictions on the media. Toward the end of the month four Otpor
members are arrested for spray-painting their symbol, a clenched fist, on
walls in Belgrade.
March 1999
After diplomatic efforts fail, NATO launches a
series of attacks against military and industrial targets in Serbia and
Kosovo. Milosevic refuses to yield.
May 1999
On May 24 the UN War Crimes Tribunal indicts
Milosevic on charges of crimes against humanity.
June 1999
Under an agreement brokered by Russia, Serbia
withdraws troops from Kosovo in return for an end to NATO bombing.
Anti-government protests resume.
August 1999
Following
months of protest demonstrations, Otpor holds a "birthday party" for
Milosevic in Nis, accepting such gifts as prison coveralls and a one-way
ticket to The Hague.
September 1999
Protests continue as
the Serbian economy deteriorates further and in spite of a government
propaganda initiative to rebuild Serbia. September 21 sees the
beginning of rallies in 20 cities urging Milosevic to resign. At the same
time, the opposition begins to fragment, and the number of demonstrators
dwindles. On September 29 and 30, the police and army use force to
break up separate demonstrations.
October 1999
On October 2, police block some 7,000
demonstrators marching to a city hospital to see those who were wounded in
previous demonstrations. An opposition leader, Zoran Djindjic, vows rallies
will continue through mid-October. On October 3, Serbian Renewal
Movement leader Vuk Draskovic is injured in an automobile accident that
kills his brother. He blames the incident on Milosevic's security forces.
On October 14 the fractious opposition unites to demand early
elections.
November 1999
Milosevic allies pass a law curbing authority of opposition municipal
governments in areas where demonstrations have taken place. On November
22, Otpor holds a rock concert followed by speeches.
January 2000
Otpor organizes an enormous rally on Orthodox New
Year's Eve (January 13) highlighting Serbian misery under a decade of Milosevic.
Opposition politicians speak. All call for early elections.
On January 21 Milosevic moves against the independent press, fining the Belgrade newspaper Danas 310,000 dinars.
March 2000
Press and media oppression continue; newspapers are
fined 202 million dinars, and a television station in Belgrade is
temporarily pulled off the air and then harassed with lawsuits.
Otpor activists in 20 towns are arrested and interrogated, and
sometimes beaten. Nonetheless, 60,000 anti-Milosevic posters are put up in
67 towns and cities.
April 2000
Media outlets are levied increasingly heavy fines,
and one of the infractions is coverage of Otpor activity. 100,000
people mass in Belgrade to demand early elections to depose Milosevic, and
the two primary opposition leaders appear together for the first time since
1997.
May 2000
With
the government on the offensive, 18 Serb political parties unite to form a
coalition, the "Democratic Opposition of Serbia," or DOS. Tensions mount
with the assassination of a Milosevic ally on May 13. The government
blames the killing on the opposition and Otpor. That same day
Otpor organizes a "surrender action," turning their membership lists
over to police throughout the country. The government accelerates its
repression, arresting activists and taking off the air two independent
television and radio stations. 20,000 people demonstrate for days.
Otpor attempts to register as a political organization, citing
opposition incompetence; the application is rejected. On May 27 the
opposition parties come together for a rally, and on May 29 the
government issues a statement blaming all unrest on pressures from
international media outlets under NATO control and the activities of an
internal fifth column. ("Internal fifth column" was an expression often used
by Milosevic and his propaganda apparatus, which characterized his enemies
as traitors, NATO traitors, enemies of the state paid by NATO, etc.)
July 2000
On July 17 Otpor members hold a
demonstration to dramatize high food prices and enact a parody of official
government news. Milosevic, having pushed through Parliament a
constitutional amendment that will allow him two more terms as president,
announces early elections scheduled for September 24.
August 2000
As elections approach, Otpor launches an
anti-Milosevic campaign with the slogan, "He's Finished!" It appears
everywhere. On August 8, Milosevic's birthday, Otpor displays giant
satirical birthday cards in town squares throughout Serbia.
September 2000
Otpor headquarters are raided and
materials seized. In an atmosphere of state-ordered vilification of the
opposition, the elections are held on September 24. More than 30,000
volunteers monitor some 10,000 polling places to prevent fraud. By the
close of the day the monitors announce that Milosevic has been defeated by a
substantial margin. The new president is the DOS candidate, Vojislav
Kostunica, a scholar and lawyer untainted by Serbian political corruption.
Milosevic, claiming that neither he nor Kostunica received a majority of the
votes, calls for a run-off election. The opposition calls for a general
strike to force Milosevic to honor the popular vote.
October 2000
Beginning with a coal miners' strike, sector after sector of the country
grinds to a halt. Protestors block streets with barricades and their
bodies. When Milosevic sends soldiers to break the strike tens of thousands
of citizens turn out. By October 5 the country has come to a virtual
standstill. Hundreds of thousands of protestors pour peacefully into
Belgrade. The police, with a few exceptions, acknowledge their orders but
refuse to obey them. By the end of the day the protestors control the
parliament building and the state-run television and radio stations.
European leaders call for Milosevic to step down. On October 6,
Milosevic acknowledges defeat, and the head of the Army congratulates
Kostunica on his victory.
April 2001
On April 1, Slobodan Milosevic is arrested
by Serbian police for crimes in office, the first step of the process that
eventually takes him before the World Court in The Hague.
June 2001
On June 28, Milosevic is extradited to The
Hague to be tried for crimes against humanity.