March 9, 1991 protest
Encyclopedia
March 9, 1991 protest refers to a mass rally on the streets of Belgrade
that turned into a riot featuring vicious clashes between the protesters and police. It was organized by Vuk Drašković
's Serbian Renewal Movement
(SPO) on March 9, 1991. Two people died in the ensuing violence.
Led by Drašković and SPO, people were called to the streets to demand resignations of TV Belgrade
director Dušan Mitević
, as well as four other editors and on-air personalities: Slavko Budihna, Predrag Vitas (head of the news division), Ivan Krivec, and Sergej Šestakov. The immediate reason for demanding resignations cited by Drašković was the commentary by Slavko Budihna shown on state television's main newscast Dnevnik 2 on February 16 in which this journalist referred to SPO as "an extension of Franjo Tuđman's politics".
Still, while the immediate cause for demonstration was specific and narrow, this protest also had a wider ideological aspect. From its very name Protest against red star
over to numerous examples of royalist insignia among the crowds, Drašković was very much whipping up old Chetnik
- Partisan
issues that were at the time beginning to be talked about again publicly after almost 50 years.
, his wife Mira Marković, and other pillars of their regime in Serbia, this antagonism particularly intesified following the parliamentary
and presidential elections of 9 December 1990 where Milošević and Socialist Party of Serbia
(SPS) scored an overwhelming victory, but Drašković also got over 800,000 votes for president that made him the most significant opposition power. Since their access to state-controlled media (either print or electronic) was fairly limited, Drašković and SPO frequently criticised and ridiculed the regime through their own weekly magazine called Srpska reč that was edited by his wife Danica. One of the issues in February 1991 featured Mira Marković with a Stalin
-like moustache and a headline "Šta hoće generali" (What Do Generals Want).
The regime's answer was an anti-SPO commentary read by TV Belgrade's journalist Slavko Budihna during central daily newscast Dnevnik 2. Among other things Budihna read:
Drasković's response to this blatant misuse of state airwaves was a demand for resignation of TV Belgrade's key personnel followed by a call to the streets. In addition to resignations, Drašković also wanted the story retracted. From then on Drašković often referred to TV Belgrade in derisive terms as "TV Bastille
":
still formally existed in March 1991, and Socialist Republic of Serbia
was its biggest and most populous constituent part. Multi-party political system was introduced the year before, meaning that instead of the League of Communists of Serbia
(SKS) that exclusively dominated for 45 years, Serbian political landscape was now again dotted with many parties for the first time since the early 1940s.
However, only three of them could boast any kind of actual significance: Slobodan Milošević
's Socialist Party of Serbia
(SPS), Drašković's Serbian Renewal Movement
(SPO), and Democratic Party
(DS) led at the time by Dragoljub Mićunović
and also featuring high-ranking members Zoran Đinđić and Vojislav Koštunica
both of whom would rise to greater prominence in years to come.
Milošević firmly controlled all the pillars of power: he himself was the President of the Republic
; his party SPS
, thanks to its huge parliamentary majority (194 seats out of 250), easily formed a stable government headed by Prime Minister Dragutin Zelenović
(former communist apparatchik, at that moment extremely loyal to Milošević). Additionally, through party-installed people like Mitević et al., Milošević had a fairly tight grip on TV Belgrade, frequently using it for his own ends, although still not as blatantly and brazenly as he would later throughout the 1990s once the wars
, UN sanctions
and general decay set in.
On the other hand, opposition led most prominently by SPO
(19 parliamentary seats out of 250) and to a lesser extent DS
(7 seats) was often plagued by internal squabbles, ego clashes, and low-level skullduggery. When SPO called the protest for March 9, DS was on the fence. Their relationship with SPO at the time was somewhat on the cool side because two of DS prominent figures, Kosta Čavoški
(one of the 13 founders) and Nikola Milošević
(high-ranking member), recently left the party to form their own
and were now openly co-operating with SPO. On top of that, ideologically speaking, the two parties had very little in common other than their general anti-Milošević stance. And this protest initially was not clearly anti-Milošević as much as it was brought on by the feud SPO had with state TV.
In the end, no DS members were on the list of speakers but many individually still decided to show up at the protest.
where the two constituent ethnic groups Croats
and Serbs
began clashing following the May 1990 election victory of nationalist Croatian Democratic Union
(HDZ) that pursued the separatist agenda of breaking away from SFR Yugoslavia.
Just days before March 9th, the incident in Pakrac occurred. Then in April 1991 the Plitvice Lakes incident
took place.
, a wide open area right in the city's downtown core. There were incidents throughout different parts of the city before the protest started as the police tried, often brutally, to impede the stream of people heading to the square. Even the scheduled speakers, including Drašković, had trouble making it into the square. The impressive crowd (in excess of 150,000 by some estimates) probably surprised even Drašković himself as entire area was literally flooded with people. Drašković then decided to seek permission from nearby National Theater
personnel to address the crowds from its balcony, which provided a nice view of the entire square.
Permission was granted by then-director Vida Ognjenović
(incidentally a prominent DS
member), so Drašković took to the balcony and began a fiery speech often interrupted by thunderous applause:
His last proclamation put the present police squadron (led by Milošević loyalist Radovan "Badža" Stojičić) in full alert mode. After Drašković finished, other people took the microphone, among them Milan Paroški, Leon Koen, Milan Komnenić, Borislav Mihajlović Mihiz etc.
Around noon, in the middle of Mihiz's speech, police moved into the square with tear gas and full blown battle began. However, overwhelmed and outnumbered by the crowd the police retreated while trying to keep the angry protesters in check with water cannons. The situation was deteriorating by the second, flower beds were being overturned and broken off into smaller pieces of concrete to be thrown onto police vehicles. Drašković did not seem phased by scenes of violence below, and if anything was only spurring them on. At one point he even bizarrely yelled "Juuuuuuriš" (Chaaaaaarge) into the microphone the way a field general would at the scene of battle.
The protest then spilled into adjoining streets and squares and most of the downtown Belgrade soon resembled a war zone. By this time, the police managed to regroup and reinforce their numbers, and began responding and attacking a lot more forcefully.
In the afternoon, Drašković, along with a large group of protesters, unsuccessfully attempted to storm the National Assembly of Serbia session. As he exited the building, he was arrested along with SPO deputy president Jovan Marjanović. Among the policemen handling Drašković's arrest was Naser Orić
.
In the evening, Milošević took to the public airwaves to address the nation. While not mentioning anyone by name he charchterized the day's events as being orchestrated by "forces of chaos and madness threatening to restore everything that the people of Serbia rose against half a century ago". Finally, even tanks rolled onto the streets to protect constitutional order. Radio B92 and Studio B
television were banned and stopped broadcasting.
Additionally, 203 protesters were injured and further 108 were arrested.
fountain. The protest now assumed a more civil tone, although there were still incidents on Branko's Bridge
when a group of 5,000 University of Belgrade
students heading into the city centre from their residence in Studentski Grad
in order to join the protesters got stopped by police. Pepper spray was used and some of the students were beaten, but all of them were eventually allowed to pass through and join the crowd at Terazije (among the individuals negotiating with the police on the bridge was Democratic Party (DS) member Zoran Đinđić).
Gatherings in front of the Terazije
fountain were notably led and moderated by actor Branislav Lečić
with various figures from public life in Serbia such as screenwriter Dušan Kovačević
, actor Rade Šerbedžija
, and even Patriarch Pavle taking turns addressing the crowd. In his speeches, Lecic often referred to the rally as "Velvet Revolution" while holding a stuffed panda toy and drawing parallels with the Czechoslovakian protests of November 1989
.
The protest also expanded in terms of the political figures that joined it with DS members now officially taking part. Also, the anti-regime component was now much more prominently displayed among the crowds. Officially though, protesters, majority of whom were university and high school students, demanded freedom for Drašković and Jovan Marjanović, and in addition to earlier stated requests for the resignation of Dušan Mitević, they now wanted the Minister of Interior Radmilo Bogdanović to resign too. Also they wanted the broadcast ban for Radio B92 and RTV Studio B to be lifted.
methods, regime bussed many workers into Belgrade from other parts of Serbia for the occasion and also used its grip on state TV to inflate the crowd size. Still, a good portion of the crowd was there on its own volition, especially older individuals and many pensioners that were always Milošević's core support. Instead to Milošević himself who did not address the gathered crowd, the task of speaking was left to his party's most publicly prominent members and idealogues at the time: Mihailo Marković
, Dušan Matković, Živorad Igić, Radoman Božović
, Petar Škundrić
, etc. The most controversial speech of the day was Matković's, at times referring to protesters as "hooligans" and calling the pro-regime crowd to "do away with them".
Still, the anti-regime protests persisted and after four days of mostly peaceful demonstration (there were further skirmishes with police on March 11) the protesters managed to achieve their aims: Drašković and Marjanović were freed while Mitević and Bogdanović got replaced.
, March 9, 2006 9. marta Milošević nije mogao pasti, B92
, March 9, 2006 Predstavljen "SPOmenar", B92, March 7, 2009 SPOmenar, monografija o 9. martu, MTS Mondo, March 7, 2009 9. MART: Dan kada je Vuk pojeo svoju decu, Press
, March 6, 2011
Belgrade
Belgrade is the capital and largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers, where the Pannonian Plain meets the Balkans. According to official results of Census 2011, the city has a population of 1,639,121. It is one of the 15 largest cities in Europe...
that turned into a riot featuring vicious clashes between the protesters and police. It was organized by Vuk Drašković
Vuk Draškovic
Vuk Drašković , leader of the Serbian Renewal Movement, is a Serbian politician who served as the Deputy Prime Minister of Yugoslavia and the Minister of Foreign Affairs of State Union of Serbia and Montenegro and Serbia.He graduated from the University of Belgrade's Law School in 1968...
's Serbian Renewal Movement
Serbian Renewal Movement
The Serbian Renewal Movement is a political party in Serbia.It was founded in 1990.In 1997 a dissident group abandoned the party and formed New Serbia....
(SPO) on March 9, 1991. Two people died in the ensuing violence.
Led by Drašković and SPO, people were called to the streets to demand resignations of TV Belgrade
Radio Television of Serbia
Radio Television of Serbia or Serbian Broadcasting Corporation is the public broadcaster in Serbia. It broadcasts and produces a variety of news, drama, and sports programming through radio, television and the Internet. RTS is, since July 2001, a member of the European Broadcasting Union. RTS is...
director Dušan Mitević
Dušan Mitevic
Dušan Mitević was the director of Radio Television of Serbia during the 1980s and 1990s, Serbia's official state media and the largest TV outlet in Serbia.Mitević has since made a statement about the nature of state media in Serbia under Milošević's guidance: "the things that...
, as well as four other editors and on-air personalities: Slavko Budihna, Predrag Vitas (head of the news division), Ivan Krivec, and Sergej Šestakov. The immediate reason for demanding resignations cited by Drašković was the commentary by Slavko Budihna shown on state television's main newscast Dnevnik 2 on February 16 in which this journalist referred to SPO as "an extension of Franjo Tuđman's politics".
Still, while the immediate cause for demonstration was specific and narrow, this protest also had a wider ideological aspect. From its very name Protest against red star
Red star
A red star, five-pointed and filled, is an important ideological and religious symbol which has been used for various purposes, such as: state emblems, flags, monuments, ornaments, and logos.- Symbol of communism :...
over to numerous examples of royalist insignia among the crowds, Drašković was very much whipping up old Chetnik
Chetniks
Chetniks, or the Chetnik movement , were Serbian nationalist and royalist paramilitary organizations from the first half of the 20th century. The Chetniks were formed as a Serbian resistance against the Ottoman Empire in 1904, and participated in the Balkan Wars, World War I, and World War II...
- Partisan
Partisans (Yugoslavia)
The Yugoslav Partisans, or simply the Partisans were a Communist-led World War II anti-fascist resistance movement in Yugoslavia...
issues that were at the time beginning to be talked about again publicly after almost 50 years.
Events leading up to the protest
Though Drašković and SPO had already been engaged in the, often dirty and personal, political battle with Slobodan MiloševićSlobodan Milošević
Slobodan Milošević was President of Serbia and Yugoslavia. He served as the President of Socialist Republic of Serbia and Republic of Serbia from 1989 until 1997 in three terms and as President of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia from 1997 to 2000...
, his wife Mira Marković, and other pillars of their regime in Serbia, this antagonism particularly intesified following the parliamentary
Serbian parliamentary election, 1990
Parliamentary elections in Serbia were held in 1990. The elections were called on September 29, after the adoption of the new constitution. The elections were held on December 9 and December 23....
and presidential elections of 9 December 1990 where Milošević and Socialist Party of Serbia
Socialist Party of Serbia
The Socialist Party of Serbia is officially a democratic socialist political party in Serbia. It is also widely recognized as a de facto Serbian nationalist party, though the party itself does not officially acknowledge this...
(SPS) scored an overwhelming victory, but Drašković also got over 800,000 votes for president that made him the most significant opposition power. Since their access to state-controlled media (either print or electronic) was fairly limited, Drašković and SPO frequently criticised and ridiculed the regime through their own weekly magazine called Srpska reč that was edited by his wife Danica. One of the issues in February 1991 featured Mira Marković with a Stalin
Joseph Stalin
Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin was the Premier of the Soviet Union from 6 May 1941 to 5 March 1953. He was among the Bolshevik revolutionaries who brought about the October Revolution and had held the position of first General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union's Central Committee...
-like moustache and a headline "Šta hoće generali" (What Do Generals Want).
The regime's answer was an anti-SPO commentary read by TV Belgrade's journalist Slavko Budihna during central daily newscast Dnevnik 2. Among other things Budihna read:
Drasković's response to this blatant misuse of state airwaves was a demand for resignation of TV Belgrade's key personnel followed by a call to the streets. In addition to resignations, Drašković also wanted the story retracted. From then on Drašković often referred to TV Belgrade in derisive terms as "TV Bastille
Bastille
The Bastille was a fortress in Paris, known formally as the Bastille Saint-Antoine. It played an important role in the internal conflicts of France and for most of its history was used as a state prison by the kings of France. The Bastille was built in response to the English threat to the city of...
":
Political scene in Serbia at the time
Although on its last legs, Socialist Federal Republic of YugoslaviaSocialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia was the Yugoslav state that existed from the abolition of the Yugoslav monarchy until it was dissolved in 1992 amid the Yugoslav Wars. It was a socialist state and a federation made up of six socialist republics: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia,...
still formally existed in March 1991, and Socialist Republic of Serbia
Socialist Republic of Serbia
Socialist Republic of Serbia was a socialist state that was a constituent country of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. It is a predecessor of modern day Serbia, which served as the biggest republic in the Yugoslav federation and held the largest population of all the Yugoslav...
was its biggest and most populous constituent part. Multi-party political system was introduced the year before, meaning that instead of the League of Communists of Serbia
League of Communists of Serbia
The League of Communists of Serbia was the Serbian branch of the League of Communists of Yugoslavia, the sole legal party of Yugoslavia from 1945 to 1990. Under a new constitution ratified in 1974, greater power was devolved to the various republic level branches. In the late 1980s, the party was...
(SKS) that exclusively dominated for 45 years, Serbian political landscape was now again dotted with many parties for the first time since the early 1940s.
However, only three of them could boast any kind of actual significance: Slobodan Milošević
Slobodan Milošević
Slobodan Milošević was President of Serbia and Yugoslavia. He served as the President of Socialist Republic of Serbia and Republic of Serbia from 1989 until 1997 in three terms and as President of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia from 1997 to 2000...
's Socialist Party of Serbia
Socialist Party of Serbia
The Socialist Party of Serbia is officially a democratic socialist political party in Serbia. It is also widely recognized as a de facto Serbian nationalist party, though the party itself does not officially acknowledge this...
(SPS), Drašković's Serbian Renewal Movement
Serbian Renewal Movement
The Serbian Renewal Movement is a political party in Serbia.It was founded in 1990.In 1997 a dissident group abandoned the party and formed New Serbia....
(SPO), and Democratic Party
Democratic Party (Serbia)
The Democratic Party is a political party in Serbia. It is described as a social liberal or social democratic party.-Pre-war history:The Democratic Party was established on 16 February 1919 from unification of Sarajevo parties independent radicals, progressives, liberals and the Serbian part of...
(DS) led at the time by Dragoljub Mićunović
Dragoljub Micunovic
Dragoljub Mićunović, PhD is a prominent Serbian politician and philosopher.-Early life:...
and also featuring high-ranking members Zoran Đinđić and Vojislav Koštunica
Vojislav Koštunica
Vojislav Koštunica is a Serbian politician, statesman and the president of the Democratic Party of Serbia. He was the last President of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, succeeding Slobodan Milošević and serving from 2000 to 2003...
both of whom would rise to greater prominence in years to come.
Milošević firmly controlled all the pillars of power: he himself was the President of the Republic
President of Serbia
The President of Serbia is the head of state of Serbia. Presently serving as the head of state is Boris Tadić. He was elected with a narrow majority of 50.31% in the 2008 Serbian presidential elections.-Authority, legal and constitutional rights:...
; his party SPS
Socialist Party of Serbia
The Socialist Party of Serbia is officially a democratic socialist political party in Serbia. It is also widely recognized as a de facto Serbian nationalist party, though the party itself does not officially acknowledge this...
, thanks to its huge parliamentary majority (194 seats out of 250), easily formed a stable government headed by Prime Minister Dragutin Zelenović
Dragutin Zelenovic
-References:...
(former communist apparatchik, at that moment extremely loyal to Milošević). Additionally, through party-installed people like Mitević et al., Milošević had a fairly tight grip on TV Belgrade, frequently using it for his own ends, although still not as blatantly and brazenly as he would later throughout the 1990s once the wars
Yugoslav wars
The Yugoslav Wars were a series of wars, fought throughout the former Yugoslavia between 1991 and 1995. The wars were complex: characterized by bitter ethnic conflicts among the peoples of the former Yugoslavia, mostly between Serbs on the one side and Croats and Bosniaks on the other; but also...
, UN sanctions
United Nations Security Council Resolution 757
United Nations Security Council Resolution 757, adopted on May 30, 1992, after reaffirming resolutions 713 , 721 , 724 , 727 , 740 743 , 749 and 752 , the Council condemned the failure of the authorities in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia to implement Resolution 752.After demanding the...
and general decay set in.
On the other hand, opposition led most prominently by SPO
Serbian Renewal Movement
The Serbian Renewal Movement is a political party in Serbia.It was founded in 1990.In 1997 a dissident group abandoned the party and formed New Serbia....
(19 parliamentary seats out of 250) and to a lesser extent DS
Democratic Party (Serbia)
The Democratic Party is a political party in Serbia. It is described as a social liberal or social democratic party.-Pre-war history:The Democratic Party was established on 16 February 1919 from unification of Sarajevo parties independent radicals, progressives, liberals and the Serbian part of...
(7 seats) was often plagued by internal squabbles, ego clashes, and low-level skullduggery. When SPO called the protest for March 9, DS was on the fence. Their relationship with SPO at the time was somewhat on the cool side because two of DS prominent figures, Kosta Čavoški
Kosta Cavoški
Kosta Čavoški is a professor at the University of Belgrade Faculty of Law. He is an outspoken critic of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia and is a Serbian nationalist.He was one of the thirteen initiators of the re-establishment of the Democratic Party in Serbia on...
(one of the 13 founders) and Nikola Milošević
Nikola Miloševic (politician)
Nikola Milošević, PhD was a Serbian writer, political philosopher, literary critic, and politician....
(high-ranking member), recently left the party to form their own
Serbian Liberal Party
The Serbian Liberal Party was a political party in Serbia. It was founded by a group of 10 members of the Democratic Party who left their former party only a few days prior to the 1990 parliamentary elections...
and were now openly co-operating with SPO. On top of that, ideologically speaking, the two parties had very little in common other than their general anti-Milošević stance. And this protest initially was not clearly anti-Milošević as much as it was brought on by the feud SPO had with state TV.
In the end, no DS members were on the list of speakers but many individually still decided to show up at the protest.
Security situation in Yugoslavia at the time
In addition to political turbulence in each of the country's six constituent republics, the security situation in SFR Yugoslavia was deteriorating as well. Incidents were especially frequent in the Socialist Republic of CroatiaSocialist Republic of Croatia
Socialist Republic of Croatia was a sovereign constituent country of the second Yugoslavia. It came to existence during World War II, becoming a socialist state after the war, and was also renamed four times in its existence . It was the second largest republic in Yugoslavia by territory and...
where the two constituent ethnic groups Croats
Croats
Croats are a South Slavic ethnic group mostly living in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and nearby countries. There are around 4 million Croats living inside Croatia and up to 4.5 million throughout the rest of the world. Responding to political, social and economic pressure, many Croats have...
and Serbs
Serbs of Croatia
Višeslav of Serbia, a contemporary of Charlemagne , ruled the Županias of Neretva, Tara, Piva, Lim, his ancestral lands. According to the Royal Frankish Annals , Duke of Pannonia Ljudevit Posavski fled, during the Frankish invasion, from his seat in Sisak to the Serbs in western Bosnia, who...
began clashing following the May 1990 election victory of nationalist Croatian Democratic Union
Croatian Democratic Union
The Croatian Democratic Union is the main center-right political party in Croatia. It is the biggest and strongest individual Croatian party since independence of Croatia. The Christian democratic HDZ governed Croatia from 1990 to 2000 and, in partial coalition, from 2003...
(HDZ) that pursued the separatist agenda of breaking away from SFR Yugoslavia.
Just days before March 9th, the incident in Pakrac occurred. Then in April 1991 the Plitvice Lakes incident
Plitvice Lakes incident
The Plitvice Lakes incident of late March/early April 1991 was an incident at the beginning of the Croatian War of Independence...
took place.
Events of the day
March 9, 1991 was a pleasant, partly sunny, slightly windy Saturday in late winter. The protest was scheduled to take place at the Republic Square in BelgradeBelgrade
Belgrade is the capital and largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers, where the Pannonian Plain meets the Balkans. According to official results of Census 2011, the city has a population of 1,639,121. It is one of the 15 largest cities in Europe...
, a wide open area right in the city's downtown core. There were incidents throughout different parts of the city before the protest started as the police tried, often brutally, to impede the stream of people heading to the square. Even the scheduled speakers, including Drašković, had trouble making it into the square. The impressive crowd (in excess of 150,000 by some estimates) probably surprised even Drašković himself as entire area was literally flooded with people. Drašković then decided to seek permission from nearby National Theater
National Theatre in Belgrade
The National Theatre was founded in the latter half of the 19th century. It is located on Republic Square, in Belgrade, Serbia.The National Theatre was declared a Monument of Culture of Great Importance in 1983, and it is protected by the Republic of Serbia....
personnel to address the crowds from its balcony, which provided a nice view of the entire square.
Permission was granted by then-director Vida Ognjenović
Vida Ognjenovic
Vida Ognjenović is a famous Serbian theater director, playwright, writer, drama professor and diplomat....
(incidentally a prominent DS
Democratic Party (Serbia)
The Democratic Party is a political party in Serbia. It is described as a social liberal or social democratic party.-Pre-war history:The Democratic Party was established on 16 February 1919 from unification of Sarajevo parties independent radicals, progressives, liberals and the Serbian part of...
member), so Drašković took to the balcony and began a fiery speech often interrupted by thunderous applause:
- I'm not going to tell you everything that has happened since this morning; we all broke through different police barriers and therein showed that no obstacle will stop us.
- I salute you, heroes!
- I said it a month ago - even when the bolsheviks didn't believe me - and I'll say it again right this moment: today, in front of our righteous Prince [referring to the statue of Prince Mihailo Obrenović that dominates the square], and especially in few moments when we start marching on TV Bastille, we will show Serbian heart and we will show Serbian persistence.
- Unfortunately, we have no other way!
- The President of the Republic [Slobodan Milošević] has to weigh between two choices in front of him: on one end of the scale are your lives as well as lives of many policemen because I heard our boys seized a lot of automatic weaponry in fights with police today - on that scale there are so many lives, Serbia's freedom, honour, and peace - while on the other end of the scale there are only 5 resignations and 1 retraction.
- Let the President decide what he wants, I have made my choice: I will lead the charge on Television today, fully ready to die!
His last proclamation put the present police squadron (led by Milošević loyalist Radovan "Badža" Stojičić) in full alert mode. After Drašković finished, other people took the microphone, among them Milan Paroški, Leon Koen, Milan Komnenić, Borislav Mihajlović Mihiz etc.
Around noon, in the middle of Mihiz's speech, police moved into the square with tear gas and full blown battle began. However, overwhelmed and outnumbered by the crowd the police retreated while trying to keep the angry protesters in check with water cannons. The situation was deteriorating by the second, flower beds were being overturned and broken off into smaller pieces of concrete to be thrown onto police vehicles. Drašković did not seem phased by scenes of violence below, and if anything was only spurring them on. At one point he even bizarrely yelled "Juuuuuuriš" (Chaaaaaarge) into the microphone the way a field general would at the scene of battle.
The protest then spilled into adjoining streets and squares and most of the downtown Belgrade soon resembled a war zone. By this time, the police managed to regroup and reinforce their numbers, and began responding and attacking a lot more forcefully.
In the afternoon, Drašković, along with a large group of protesters, unsuccessfully attempted to storm the National Assembly of Serbia session. As he exited the building, he was arrested along with SPO deputy president Jovan Marjanović. Among the policemen handling Drašković's arrest was Naser Orić
Naser Oric
Naser Orić is a former Bosniak military officer who commanded the Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina forces in the Srebrenica enclave in Eastern Bosnia surrounded by Serb forces, during the 1992-1995 war in Bosnia and Herzegovina.In 2006, he was sentenced to two years' imprisonment by...
.
In the evening, Milošević took to the public airwaves to address the nation. While not mentioning anyone by name he charchterized the day's events as being orchestrated by "forces of chaos and madness threatening to restore everything that the people of Serbia rose against half a century ago". Finally, even tanks rolled onto the streets to protect constitutional order. Radio B92 and Studio B
RTV Studio B
RTV Studio B, more often called Studio B , is a radio and television broadcaster in Belgrade, Serbia, which was the first broadcast station outside the national electronic media system.-Background:...
television were banned and stopped broadcasting.
Casualties
Unfortunately, the protest claimed two lives. Around 3:30pm while running away from the crowd of protesters in Masarikova Street near Beograđanka, policeman Nedeljko Kosović (54 years old) died from repeated blows to the head. Later in the day, protester Branivoje Milinović (17 years old) was killed by a stray bullet. The circumstances of his death are conflicting as some reports claim he died as the crowd was storming the SR Serbia parliament building while others say he was killed by policemen on the corner of Admirala Geprata Street and Kneza Miloša Street opened rubber bullet fire on protesters in front of London Cafe. The investigation into his death was recently reopened.Additionally, 203 protesters were injured and further 108 were arrested.
March 10
The very next day, March 10, after order was somewhat restored, a large crowd again began to gather during late evening hours - but this time in front of TerazijeTerazije
Terazije is the central square and an urban neighborhood of Belgrade, the capital of Serbia. It is located in the Belgrade municipality of Stari Grad.- Location :...
fountain. The protest now assumed a more civil tone, although there were still incidents on Branko's Bridge
Branko's Bridge
Branko's bridge is the second-largest bridge of Belgrade, Serbia, connecting the city center with New Belgrade across Sava river....
when a group of 5,000 University of Belgrade
University of Belgrade
The University of Belgrade is the oldest and largest university of Serbia.Founded in 1808 as the Belgrade Higher School in revolutionary Serbia, by 1838 it merged with the Kragujevac-based departments into a single university...
students heading into the city centre from their residence in Studentski Grad
Studentski Grad (Belgrade)
Studentski Grad or colloquially Studenjak is an urban neighborhood of Belgrade, the capital of Serbia. It is located in Belgrade's municipality of Novi Beograd...
in order to join the protesters got stopped by police. Pepper spray was used and some of the students were beaten, but all of them were eventually allowed to pass through and join the crowd at Terazije (among the individuals negotiating with the police on the bridge was Democratic Party (DS) member Zoran Đinđić).
Gatherings in front of the Terazije
Terazije
Terazije is the central square and an urban neighborhood of Belgrade, the capital of Serbia. It is located in the Belgrade municipality of Stari Grad.- Location :...
fountain were notably led and moderated by actor Branislav Lečić
Branislav Lecic
Branislav Lečić is a Serbian actor, and politician. He graduated from the Faculty of Dramatic Arts of the University of Belgrade as an actor in 1978...
with various figures from public life in Serbia such as screenwriter Dušan Kovačević
Dušan Kovacevic
Dušan Kovačević is a Serbian playwright and director best known for his theater plays and movie scripts. He also served as the ambassador of Serbia in Lisbon, Portugal....
, actor Rade Šerbedžija
Rade Šerbedžija
Rade Šerbedžija , occasionally credited as Rade Sherbedgia in some English-language productions, is a Croatian actor, director and musician of Serb origin. He was one of the most popular Yugoslav actors in the 1970s and 1980s. He is now internationally known mainly for his supporting roles in...
, and even Patriarch Pavle taking turns addressing the crowd. In his speeches, Lecic often referred to the rally as "Velvet Revolution" while holding a stuffed panda toy and drawing parallels with the Czechoslovakian protests of November 1989
Velvet Revolution
The Velvet Revolution or Gentle Revolution was a non-violent revolution in Czechoslovakia that took place from November 17 – December 29, 1989...
.
The protest also expanded in terms of the political figures that joined it with DS members now officially taking part. Also, the anti-regime component was now much more prominently displayed among the crowds. Officially though, protesters, majority of whom were university and high school students, demanded freedom for Drašković and Jovan Marjanović, and in addition to earlier stated requests for the resignation of Dušan Mitević, they now wanted the Minister of Interior Radmilo Bogdanović to resign too. Also they wanted the broadcast ban for Radio B92 and RTV Studio B to be lifted.
March 11
On March 11, the Milošević's regime attempted to regroup by organizing a mass counter-rally at their old stomping grounds Ušće. Called under the name "For the defense of the Republic, for constitutionality, freedom, and democracy", the rally attempted to show that protesters at the Republic Square and Terazije in no way represented the wishes and desires of the majority of Serbian population. Using previously developed and tested astroturfingAstroturfing
Astroturfing is a form of advocacy in support of a political, organizational, or corporate agenda, designed to give the appearance of a "grassroots" movement. The goal of such campaigns is to disguise the efforts of a political and/or commercial entity as an independent public reaction to some...
methods, regime bussed many workers into Belgrade from other parts of Serbia for the occasion and also used its grip on state TV to inflate the crowd size. Still, a good portion of the crowd was there on its own volition, especially older individuals and many pensioners that were always Milošević's core support. Instead to Milošević himself who did not address the gathered crowd, the task of speaking was left to his party's most publicly prominent members and idealogues at the time: Mihailo Marković
Mihailo Markovic
Mihailo Marković, PhD was a Serbian philosopher. He was born in Belgrade, Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes...
, Dušan Matković, Živorad Igić, Radoman Božović
Radoman Božovic
Radoman Božović is a former Prime Minister of Serbia.Božović was born in a village on the banks of Piva River. He completed grades 1-3 of elementary school in Nikšić. After elementary school he moved to Serbia, and completed secondary education in Vrbas. In 1975, he graduated from the University...
, Petar Škundrić
Petar Škundric
Petar Škundrić is a Serbian politician, member of the Socialist Party of Serbia and was a minister in the Serbian Government from 2008 to 2011....
, etc. The most controversial speech of the day was Matković's, at times referring to protesters as "hooligans" and calling the pro-regime crowd to "do away with them".
Still, the anti-regime protests persisted and after four days of mostly peaceful demonstration (there were further skirmishes with police on March 11) the protesters managed to achieve their aims: Drašković and Marjanović were freed while Mitević and Bogdanović got replaced.
External links
Narod zastrašivan tenkovima, Glas javnostiGlas javnosti
Glas javnosti is a daily newspaper published in Belgrade.Its first issue appeared on April 20, 1998, published by a group of journalists from Blic daily who, led by Manojlo Vukotić, left to form their own newspaper.Initially, their new paper carried the Novi Blic name, but the Belgrade Commercial...
, March 9, 2006 9. marta Milošević nije mogao pasti, B92
B92
B92 is a radio and television broadcaster with national coverage headquartered in Belgrade, Serbia. The network's key demographic is chiefly urban and young audience. Its programs, including the news cover topics with fairly liberal political painted attitudes...
, March 9, 2006 Predstavljen "SPOmenar", B92, March 7, 2009 SPOmenar, monografija o 9. martu, MTS Mondo, March 7, 2009 9. MART: Dan kada je Vuk pojeo svoju decu, Press
Press (newspaper)
Press is a daily tabloid newspaper published in Belgrade.Press Publishing Group also owns a daily aimed at businesspeople called Biznis, as well as a lifestyle weekly magazine Lola and a glossy monthly magazine called FAME...
, March 6, 2011