Tenth anniversary of democratic changes in Serbia
05. October 2010. | 15:33
Source: Tanjug
On October 5, 2010, Serbia celebrates 10 years since the supporters of the Democratic Opposition of Serbia (DOS) staged a mass protest, forcing Slobodan Milosevic, then president of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY), to step down.
On October 5, 2010, Serbia celebrates 10 years since the supporters of the Democratic Opposition of Serbia (DOS) staged a mass protest, forcing Slobodan Milosevic, then president of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY), to step down.
The October 5 protest in front of the Federal Parliament in downtown Belgrade was organized after the Federal Electoral Committee refused to acknowledge the victory of DOS candidate Vojislav Kostunica at the elections for the president of FRY held on September 24, 2000.
Even though many unofficial sources determined that Kostunica had scored a decisive first-round victory against opposing candidate Slobodan Milosevic, the Federal Electoral Committee announced that the DOS candidate had only won 49 percent of the votes and scheduled a second round of voting.
At the same time, the coalition made up of 18 opposition parties claimed that Kostunica had won 52.54 percent of the votes and dismissed any possibility of a second round.
In response, DOS scheduled a protest under the slogan 'Serbia in Belgrade', and gave Milosevic until October 5 at 3 p.m. to admit defeat.
Estimates on the number of protesters in the center of Belgrade vary, but what is certain is that this was the single biggest rally ever mounted against Milosevic's decade-long rule.
When the ultimatum deadline was up, the protesters charged the Federal Parliament, which was guarded by insufficient police.
Milosevic did not concede defeat on October 5, but he succumbed on the following day.
After the meeting with Kostunica on October 6, Milosevic addressed the citizens via a private Belgrade TV station and admitted his defeat at the presidential elections.
He congratulated Kostunica on his victory.
Milosevic was arrested on April 1, 2001 and extradited to the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY), where he died in detention in March 2006, before his trial was completed.
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