Two weeks after the elections for the president of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, which were held on September 24, 2000, and after the refusal of the then Serbian government to recognize the victory of the opposition candidate Vojislav Koštunuca, the Democratic Opposition of Serbia (DOS) called the citizens to a protest.
The first goal was to stop the election theft, which was carried out by the Federal Election Commission at the behest of Slobodan Milošević, writes Danas.
Namely, the SIK was preparing the second round of presidential elections for Sunday, October 8, but DOS, which consisted of 18 opposition parties, ultimately demanded that Milosevic recognize the electoral will of the citizens by Thursday, October 5, at 15 pm.
"We cannot go to any second round, because that would make us complicit in stealing votes." The fraud from the first round cannot be undone by the second, fifth or who knows what round," Koštunica told Milošević, pointing to mass protests and the danger of open conflicts in Serbia.
The second request of the united opposition was to replace the general director, editor-in-chief and editorial board of the state television and to change the editorial policy in order to enable citizens to be informed objectively about events in Serbia.
Also. DOS also demanded the release of all citizens arrested for opposing the regime of Slobodan Milošević and election theft.
Already during the morning of October 5, hundreds of thousands of citizens poured into the streets of Belgrade. They came from all over Serbia, despite the blockades and Milosevic's insistence on the "second round".
Admitting defeat
At around 15:30 p.m., a large group of dissatisfied citizens entered the Assembly building through a window, while the police dispersed the people gathered on the plateau in front of the building with tear gas.
Unsuccessfully, because around 16:00, another group of citizens entered the parliament, this time by stairs, and then to the main entrance, from where the policemen defending the passage withdrew.
Clashes followed in the surrounding streets, demonstrators demolished several police vehicles in Kosovska street behind the parliament, and the building was devastated.
According to information that later became public, the commander of the Belgrade police requested a meeting with representatives of DOS around 17 pm, and an hour later members of the police station in nearby Majke Jevrosima Street laid down their weapons and part of them joined the protesters.
The fiercest clashes were in Takovska in front of the Belgrade Radio-television building (now RTS). That building was also set on fire late in the afternoon, and general manager Dragoljub Milanović only escaped lynching thanks to the composure of some protesters.
The newly elected president of the FRY, Vojislav Koštunica, addressed the citizens earlier in the evening from the terrace of the Belgrade City Assembly, and then via RTB.
DOS formed the Crisis Staff for key functions in the country in coordination with the new president, and DOS representatives talked during the night with the leaders of state and public security.
On the morning of October 6, Milošević addressed the public and officially admitted his defeat in the presidential elections, so already on October 7, Vojislav Koštunica took the presidential oath.
The key moment for the success of the protest, but above all the avoidance of a major conflict, was the transfer of special police forces to the side of the demonstrators.
That crossing is still shrouded in secrecy, the only thing that is known for sure is that the day before, Zoran Đinđić and one of his later assassins, Milorad Ulemek Legija, met and that an agreement was reached that the special forces would not act.
During the demonstrations, Jasmina Jovanović (39) from Velika Plana was killed, who fell under the wheels of a truck. and Momčilo Stakić from Krupanj died as a result of a heart attack.
65 people were injured in the riots.
Mantra October 6
Shortly after the loss of federal power, the Socialist Party of Serbia also lost in the republican elections on December 23 of the same year, and after them Zoran Đinđić became, as they say, the first democratically elected prime minister.
In the meantime, from October 25, 2000 to January 25, 20001, Serbia was governed by the Provisional Government headed by Milomir Minic (SPS), which consisted of SPS-DOS and SPO.
Until then, the largest opposition party, the Serbian Renewal Movement of Vuk Drašković, was not part of DOS in the September elections, even though DOS was created a few months earlier precisely on the initiative of Drašković and Đinđić.
The first major rift in the DOS after coming to power occurred at the end of December due to the disagreement of the DSS with the new Labor Law, and resulted in the exit of Koštunuča's Democrats from the ruling coalition.
Zoran Đinđić was killed on March 12, 2003, and according to many of the active participants, on October 5, that's when the reforms were stopped.
The question that already began to be asked quietly on October 6, 2000, and later more and more loudly, is exactly "where is October 6", because critics claim that the 5th of October betrayed October XNUMX and its derivatives. However, it is often forgotten what kind of Serbia DOS took over from the so-called red-black SPS-SRS coalition, completely devastated, empty state coffers, over-indebted, excluded from all international institutions, at odds with almost the entire world, and especially with the region that still saw the wounds of war.
Under Đinđić's leadership, Serbia began political and economic reforms and building institutions.
With more or less success and failure, it continued later, until the big change of government in May 2012.
Although March 12, 2012 can be considered the day of the final dissolution of DOS, some of the political parties and leaders were part of the ruling coalition led by DS in the following years.
Hard-line October 5 supporters see the defeat of October 2008 in the coalition created after the XNUMX elections, when SPS joined the Democratic Party as part of the ruling coalition.
It takes a lot of time, space and good will to answer the question "where is October 6th" rationally and accurately, and undoubtedly it will be done once and only then will it be possible to valorize the scope of October 5th.
Bonus video:
