Serbia’s ‘velvet’ Revolution and Its Aftermath

Abstract

The turning point of Serbia’s recent history came in autumn 2000 when Milosevic was defeated at last, after having ruled the country for over ten years. The elections scheduled for 24 September 2000 brought the victory of Vojislav Kostunica, the presidential candidate of the Democratic Opposition of Serbia (DOS) for FR Yugoslavia. Radical political changes were to take place only after 5 October 2000 when, following Milosevic’s non-recognition of the September 2000 electoral results, there was a general uprising of the Serbian population with thousands of people protesting on the streets of Belgrade. After two days of continuous demonstrations during which the parliament was also seized, Milosevic had to give in and recognize the electoral results. Kostunica became the new president of FR Yugoslavia and some of the main leaders of DOS were appointed ministers in the federal government.