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The great coup, which was undoubtedly the fall from power of Slobodan Milosevic, brings with it great stories, heroes, truths, secrets … “Blic” recalls the most important events before and on the day of the revolution.
The October 5 protest under the slogan “Serbia in Belgrade” in the center of the capital, in front of the House of the National Assembly, was organized after the electoral commission disputed the victory of the DOS candidate Vojislav Kostunica in the elections presidential elections of September 24, 2000. Although numerous unofficial sources determined that Kostunica won a resounding victory over his opponent Milosevic in the first round of elections, the electoral commission announced that the DOS candidate obtained 49% of the votes and announced a new second round of voting to be held on October 8. . On the other hand, DOS, that is, the coalition of 18 opposition parties, affirmed that Kostunica obtained 52.54 percent of the votes and rejected any possibility of holding a second electoral round. That is why DOS scheduled a protest in Belgrade and gave Milosevic an ultimatum to admit defeat before October 5 at 3 pm In addition, the resignations of the leaders of Serbian Radio and Television (RTS) were finally requested. . There are different estimates of how many people gathered at the protest, but it is considered to be one of the most massive gatherings of citizens in the capital. In addition to the people of Belgrade, tens of thousands of inhabitants of the interior also participated in this veritable revolution, so it is believed that there were several hundred thousand protesters that day.
Miners strike
Many leaders of the October 5 revolution, especially the future prime minister of the ranks of the DOS, Zoran Djindjic, claim that the turning point for the overthrow of Slobodan Milosevic from power was the general strike of miners from the “Kolubara basin “, which began on September 29.
– We received an announcement that the Lazarevac miners will go on strike. We said – great, miners plus students, it’s a revolution … The key was that the general strike was successful, thanks to the interior of Serbia. The general strike was a risk, but there was no option, we were going for everything or nothing – Djindjic said in one of the interviews.
The strike then started at the Majdanpek and Kostolac mines, as well as at the Pancevo refinery, but also at GSP “Belgrade”.
Breaking the cord
To prevent a mass gathering of protesters in Belgrade on October 5, the Slobodan Milosevic regime installed police cordons and barricades on the roads leading to the capital. However, that did not deter inland citizens from protesting. The first police cordon was broken by the people of Čačak, led by the leader of New Serbia, Velimir Velj Ilić. The citizens of Čačak pushed the truck obstacles from the road into the ditch and continued on their way to Belgrade. The citizens of Kraljevo, as well as the inhabitants of all parts of western Serbia, arrived in the capital by the “liberated” highway. Like the barricades on the Ibar highway, the police obstacles near Batajnica passed in a similar way, which were supposed to stop protesters from Novi Sad, Subotica, Sombor, Zrenjanin, practically all of Vojvodina. It is interesting that Nishlije, that is, eastern and southern Serbia, had the easiest way to Belgrade, as the police blocked only one lane of the road near Bubanj Potok.
Intrusion into the assembly
People began to gather in the center of Belgrade in the morning, in front of the Federal Assembly, and the first incidents occurred around noon. The police officers tried to arrest a young man with the “Resistance” flag who slipped behind the police cordon for the crowd to use and rush towards the door of the Assembly. The policemen immediately fired tear gas at the crowd and began beating the assembled citizens with batons. However, less than half an hour later, the protesters returned in front of the Assembly.
Slobodan Milosevic was given an ultimatum to withdraw at 3 pm, and when that deadline passed, even the DOS leaders could no longer control the endless mass of people. Belgrade has never seen so many protesters. Regardless of this, the police fired several tear gas at those gathered in front of the Assembly at around 3.30 pm and a stampede ensued. The protesters return to the Assembly after an hour. The policemen withdrew to the Assembly, which was a signal for the masses to break into the building. There is general chaos. The protesters set fire to the right wing of the Assembly, broke doors, windows, took away tables, armchairs, chairs …
The other objective of the protest was to “liberate” RTS. That is why a large group of people went to Takovska Street, led by the excavator Ljubisav Đokić, the popular Joe. The police offered much less resistance than in front of the Assembly, so the crowd soon entered the television building. In the general commotion, RTS employees received the most beatings, mainly journalists. The worst was RTS director Dragoljib Milanović, who fell to the ground and was beaten helplessly.
Joe the digger
Ljubisav Đokić, the popular Digger Joe, is one of the heroes of the October 5 protest, as he led protesters towards the RTS building with his bulldozer. According to the witness, the intrepid Joe on the bulldozer could not be stopped even by police shooting. He stopped alone at the entrance to the television building and allowed a mass of people to enter RTS. Joe, the excavator, died in early July at the age of 77.
Djindjic and Legija
One of the most intriguing meetings before the revolution took place the night before the protest, when future Prime Minister Zoran Djindjic and former Special Operations Unit commander Milorad Ulemek Legija met. Djindjic never wanted to talk about that meeting.
Army and Police
Only the police fought the protesters on October 5, until a certain point when the support of the army was lacking. The then Commander of the Belgrade Corps, Bozidar Delic, did not listen to calls for help from the Minister of Police, Vlajko Stojiljkovic. The members of the General Staff were against the army’s commitment because they knew it would lead to bloodshed.
Two victims
Unfortunately, the October 5 revolution could not pass without casualties. Thus, Jasmina Milošević from Miloševac died in a general commotion after the police fired a burst of tear gas in front of the assembly, falling from the trailer under the wheels of a truck at the corner of Durmitorska and Kneza Miloša, while Momčilo Stakić from Krupanj died of a heart attack. 65 people were injured in the demonstrations.
VIDEO: October 5
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