5th October (Serbia)
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The 5th October Overthrow (sometimes colloquially called the Bulldozer Revolution) is a term referring to the series of events that occurred in 2000 in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, culminating in the downfall of Slobodan Milošević's regime on October 5, 2000. It is known as the "Bulldozer Revolution" after one of the most memorable episodes from the day long protest in which a bulldozer operator Ljubisav Đokić nicknamed Joe fired up his engine and used it to charge the RTS building. Its tenant, Serbian state television RTS, had for a decade been a symbol and bastion of Milošević's rule.
Prior to this, Milošević was cracking down on independent media. In the summer of 2000, as the end of his first term in office approached, the election of the president was changed. Whilst it had previously been chosen for one term only by the legislature, it was now directly elected via the French system of presidential elections with a maximum of two terms. Many onlookers believed that Milošević's intentions for supporting such reforms were more to do with keeping his own power than with improved democracy[1]. Milošević also called early elections in September, although he was guaranteed to remain in power until June 2001.
Soon after the announcement, Otpor led the campaign to topple the regime and bring in a more democratic one. To have a unified opposition several opposition parties in Serbia formed the Democratic Opposition of Serbia (DOS) coalition.
The vote took place on September 24, 2000. The DOS coalition reported that it won over half of the votes. The regime claimed that no candidate won over half the vote and that a second round would take place. These irregularities led DOS to call for peaceful protest to topple the regime. The vote was largely boycotted in Montenegro. The protest initially started with strikers at the Kolubara mines, which produce most of Serbia's electricity needs. The protest reached its height on October 5, 2000. Several hundred thousand protesters from all over Serbia arrived in Belgrade to protest. Unlike previous protests, there was no large scale police crackdown. The parliament was partially burned during the protests. When the RTS studios were taken over, the station was quickly renamed "Novi RTS" ("New RTS") as a sign that the regime had lost power.
In the time between elections and the protest, Milošević said that he would gladly resign but only when his term expired in June of next year. Due to pressure caused by the protests, Milošević resigned on October 7, 2000. In the end even his ally Russia did not recognize his government.
A DOS victory was guaranteed in parliamentary elections in December, where they achieved a two-thirds majority.
[edit] Further reading
- Pavol Demes and Joerg Forbrig (eds.). Reclaiming Democracy: Civil Society and Electoral Change in Central and Eastern Europe. German Marshall Fund, 2007.
