Anti-bureaucratic revolution
Encyclopedia
Anti-bureaucratic revolution as a term, refers to a series of mass protest
s against governments of Yugoslavian republics and autonomous provinces during 1988 and 1989, which led to resignations of leaderships of Kosovo
, Vojvodina
and Montenegro
, and the capture of power by politicians close to Slobodan Milošević
.
While its name is derived from its proclaimed revolt against bureaucratic, corrupt and alienated governing structures, it is widely contended as part of Milošević's strengthening of power through populism
, and expansion of centralised influence to its autonomous provinces Vojvodina and Kosovo (which after the passing of the constitution form 1974 were not dependent on Serbia
's central government but did remain nominally within Serbia) and neighboring Montenegro.
The move was condemned by communist governments of western Yugoslavian republics (especially Slovenia
and Croatia
).
's Serbian branch
in September 1987, when his nationalist faction won over the relatively liberal one led by Ivan Stambolić
. His rise to power coincided with Serbo
-Albanian
tensions in Kosovo, as Kosovo Serbs felt oppressed by Albanians and Albanian-dominated leadership of the province. The tensions were further boosted by inflammatory reports in Serbian media.
According to the 1974 Constitution of Yugoslavia, the autonomous provinces of Serbia (Vojvodina and Kosovo) had very little dependence from the central Serbian government, and both of them had a seat in the federal Presidency, along with 6 constituent republics. In effect, their status was almost equivalent with the one of republics, and provincial leaderships have led practically independent policies.
In late 1987 and 1988, a populist campaign started in Serbia pointing out to untenability of such situation. The leaderships of the provinces were being accused of bureaucracy and alienation from people. Popular slogans like "oh Serbia from three parts, you will be whole again" (Ој Србијо из три дела поново ћеш бити цела, oj Srbijo iz tri dela ponovo ćeš biti cela) caught up. The atmosphere was further stirred up by numerous articles and readers' letters in Serbian press, the most notorious being Politika
's rubric "Odjeci i reagovanja" (Echoes and reactions), letters to the editor type of astroturfing.
The main points of the campaign were the theses that:
in April 1987, gathering around 20,000 people.
However, the real outburst of protests began in second half of 1988. In June, the protest of workers of Zmaj factory gathered 5,000 protestors; in July, meetings were held in 7 towns with tens of thousands, and in August in 10 towns with 80,000 people, and in September they affected 39 towns with over 400,000 attendants.
to protest against the Vojvodina provincial government. The gathering actually started a day earlier in nearby town of Bačka Palanka
, and, as Politika explained it, the mass spontaneously gathered and moved to Novi Sad. The protest in Palanka was led by Mihalj Kertes
, a mid-level official of the Communist Party, ethnic Hungarian
which would later become famous for his remark "How can you Serbs be afraid of Serbia when I,
a Hungarian, am not afraid of Serbia?" (and later still, as Milošević's money man). Protestors from Novi Sad and other parts of Serbia gathered in huge numbers, and began the protest in front of Parliament of Vojvodina.
The provincial leadership, led by the provincial party president Milovan Šogorov, Boško Krunić and Živan Berisavljević, were caught by surprise. Before the event, they tried to find a middle ground and negotiate with Milošević, expressing cautious support for the constitutional changes while trying to keep their and Vojvodina's position intact. However, the avalanche of media campaign orchestrated from Belgrade was about to overwhelm them; they were labeled as power-hungry "armchair
ers" (foteljaši) and "autonomists" (autonomaši).
In vain, someone from the government tried to cut off the power and water supply to the protesters, a move which enraged the mass further still, and caused even more people from Novi Sad and vicinity to join. When the electricity supply was restored, they tried a different tactic: in order to cheer the demonstrators up, they gave them bread and yogurt: thousands of yogurt packages were soon thrown at the Parliament building by the angry people. The term "Yogurt revolution" for the protest was named after that episode.
On October 6, the entire presidentship of Vojvodina resigned. They would soon be replaced with Milošević's men of trust, Nedeljko Šipovac, Radovan Pankov and Radoman Božović
.
, at Ušće (the large field at confluence of Sava River
into Danube
) was held on November 19, 1988. According to the state press, it gathered about a million people, and according to others, several hundred thousands. It was conceived as a "mother of all rallies", and a huge crowd of people come from all parts of Serbia by public and factory buses taken just for this opportunity. Milošević reaffirmed his and Serbia's confinement to the principles of liberty and Serbian equity within Yugoslavia:
was on the defense at the time, claiming that it was also "protecting Kosovo", but their restraint in direct support for Milošević was deemed not good enough by the putschists.
What eventually proved to be the coup's first act occurred on October 7, 1988, when Montenegrin police intervened against protesters in Žuta Greda who demanded resignations from the current Montenegrin leadership. In order to deal with the situation the leadership proclaimed the state of emergency
. The state of emergency didn't last long though, as it was taken as act of hostility towards Serbia by media outlets controlled by Milošević as well as Milošević's supporters in Montenegro.
The second act started with joint rallies consisting of workers from Radoje Dakić state-owned factory and Veljko Vlahović University students. On January 10, 1989, over 10,000 protesters gathered in Titograd and the old leadership, confused and disorganised, soon gave in; none of them later played a significant political role. The new "young lions" of the Montenegro, Momir Bulatović
, Milo Đukanović and Svetozar Marović
, became the new leadership, strongly allied with Milošević in the years to come. The League of Communists of Montenegro was subsequently transformed by the "triumvirate" who had full control over the (Socialist) Republic of Montenegro into the Democratic Party of Socialists of Montenegro
, which vigorously maintained its grip over Montenegro and does so to this day more than 20 years later.
Protest
A protest is an expression of objection, by words or by actions, to particular events, policies or situations. Protests can take many different forms, from individual statements to mass demonstrations...
s against governments of Yugoslavian republics and autonomous provinces during 1988 and 1989, which led to resignations of leaderships of Kosovo
Socialist Autonomous Province of Kosovo
Socialist Autonomous Province of Kosovo was one of the two socialist autonomous areas of the Socialist Republic of Serbia incorporated into the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia from 1974 until 1990...
, Vojvodina
Socialist Autonomous Province of Vojvodina
Socialist Autonomous Province of Vojvodina , also known shortly as SAP Vojvodina , was one of the two socialist autonomous provinces of the Socialist Republic of Serbia from 1963 to 1990 and one of the federal units of the Socialist Federal...
and Montenegro
Socialist Republic of Montenegro
Socialist Republic of Montenegro or SR Montenegro in shortened form, was a socialist state that was a constituent country in the former Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. It is a predecessor of the modern day Montenegro...
, and the capture of power by politicians close to 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...
.
While its name is derived from its proclaimed revolt against bureaucratic, corrupt and alienated governing structures, it is widely contended as part of Milošević's strengthening of power through populism
Populism
Populism can be defined as an ideology, political philosophy, or type of discourse. Generally, a common theme compares "the people" against "the elite", and urges social and political system changes. It can also be defined as a rhetorical style employed by members of various political or social...
, and expansion of centralised influence to its autonomous provinces Vojvodina and Kosovo (which after the passing of the constitution form 1974 were not dependent on 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...
's central government but did remain nominally within Serbia) and neighboring Montenegro.
The move was condemned by communist governments of western Yugoslavian republics (especially Slovenia
Socialist Republic of Slovenia
The Socialist Republic of Slovenia was a socialist state that was a constituent country of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia from 1943 until 1990...
and Croatia
Socialist 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...
).
Prelude: Milošević's rise to power
Milošević took control of Yugoslav Communist LeagueLeague of Communists of Yugoslavia
League of Communists of Yugoslavia , before 1952 the Communist Party of Yugoslavia League of Communists of Yugoslavia (Serbo-Croatian: Savez komunista Jugoslavije/Савез комуниста Југославије, Slovene: Zveza komunistov Jugoslavije, Macedonian: Сојуз на комунистите на Југославија, Sojuz na...
's Serbian branch
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...
in September 1987, when his nationalist faction won over the relatively liberal one led by Ivan Stambolić
Ivan Stambolic
Ivan Stambolić was a Communist Party of Yugoslavia official and the President of the Republic of Serbia in the 1980s who was later victim of an assassination....
. His rise to power coincided with Serbo
Serbs of Kosovo
Kosovo Serbs are the second largest ethnic group in Kosovo. By the 12th century, the cultural, diplomatic and religious core of the Serbian Kingdom was located in Kosovo. This became essential to the Serbian Empire of the 14th century....
-Albanian
Albanians in Kosovo
Albanians are the largest ethnic group in Kosovo . According to the 1991 Serbian census, boycotted by Albanians, there were 1,596,072 ethnic Albanians in Kosovo or 81.6% of population...
tensions in Kosovo, as Kosovo Serbs felt oppressed by Albanians and Albanian-dominated leadership of the province. The tensions were further boosted by inflammatory reports in Serbian media.
According to the 1974 Constitution of Yugoslavia, the autonomous provinces of Serbia (Vojvodina and Kosovo) had very little dependence from the central Serbian government, and both of them had a seat in the federal Presidency, along with 6 constituent republics. In effect, their status was almost equivalent with the one of republics, and provincial leaderships have led practically independent policies.
In late 1987 and 1988, a populist campaign started in Serbia pointing out to untenability of such situation. The leaderships of the provinces were being accused of bureaucracy and alienation from people. Popular slogans like "oh Serbia from three parts, you will be whole again" (Ој Србијо из три дела поново ћеш бити цела, oj Srbijo iz tri dela ponovo ćeš biti cela) caught up. The atmosphere was further stirred up by numerous articles and readers' letters in Serbian press, the most notorious being Politika
Politika
Politika is a Serbian newspaper. It is considered the newspaper of record and is the oldest daily in the Balkans, having been founded on January 25, 1904 by Vladislav Ribnikar. It is currently being published by Politika Newspapers and Magazines , a joint venture between Politika AD and...
's rubric "Odjeci i reagovanja" (Echoes and reactions), letters to the editor type of astroturfing.
The main points of the campaign were the theses that:
- Serbs in Kosovo are being harassed by Albanians and suppressed by the Albanian-dominated Kosovo government
- Due to the 1974 Constitution, Serbia has no effective control over its provinces, whose leaderships are bureaucratic and estranged from the people
- It was also alleged that this Constitution was created by influence of other Yugoslav republic, especially Slovenia and Croatia, in order to suppress Serbia's power and create an environment for exploitation of Serbia's goods and natural resources
- The Constitution had, in effect, created a confederal type of government, as no decision could be made without consensus of all 6 republics in the federal parliament; and a system with a better consideration of popular majority is called for (the slogan "one man, one vote" was one of most popular)
- Therefore, a thorough change of federal Constitution and enhancement of Serbian control over its provinces were necessary.
Protests
The mass protests actually started as early as February 1986, with several meetings of Kosovo Serbs in Belgrade and in Kosovo, pleading for settlement of situation on Kosovo. These were relatively small, with 100-5000 participants, and were mostly reactions to individual inter-ethnic incidents. The largest such protest was held in Kosovo PoljeKosovo Polje
Kosovo Polje or Fushë Kosova is a town and municipality in the Pristina district of central Kosovo, at 42.63° North, 21.12° East, or approximately eight kilometres south-west of the capital Pristina...
in April 1987, gathering around 20,000 people.
However, the real outburst of protests began in second half of 1988. In June, the protest of workers of Zmaj factory gathered 5,000 protestors; in July, meetings were held in 7 towns with tens of thousands, and in August in 10 towns with 80,000 people, and in September they affected 39 towns with over 400,000 attendants.
October 1988: Vojvodina: Yogurt revolution
On October 5, 1988, around 150,000 people gathered in Novi SadNovi Sad
Novi Sad is the capital of the northern Serbian province of Vojvodina, and the administrative centre of the South Bačka District. The city is located in the southern part of Pannonian Plain on the Danube river....
to protest against the Vojvodina provincial government. The gathering actually started a day earlier in nearby town of Bačka Palanka
Backa Palanka
Bačka Palanka is a city and municipality located in Serbia, on left bank of the Danube, at 45.15° North, 19.24° East...
, and, as Politika explained it, the mass spontaneously gathered and moved to Novi Sad. The protest in Palanka was led by Mihalj Kertes
Mihalj Kertes
Mihalj Kertes, nicknamed "Braca" or "Bracika", was a close associate and man of trust of Slobodan Milošević, Serbian leader during 1990s...
, a mid-level official of the Communist Party, ethnic Hungarian
Hungarians in Vojvodina
Hungarians are the second largest ethnic group in the Vojvodina province in northern Serbia. According to the 2002 census, there are 290,207 ethnic Hungarians in Vojvodina who compose 14.28% of the provincial population. The number of ethnic Hungarians in the whole of Serbia is 293,299, and their...
which would later become famous for his remark "How can you Serbs be afraid of Serbia when I,
a Hungarian, am not afraid of Serbia?" (and later still, as Milošević's money man). Protestors from Novi Sad and other parts of Serbia gathered in huge numbers, and began the protest in front of Parliament of Vojvodina.
The provincial leadership, led by the provincial party president Milovan Šogorov, Boško Krunić and Živan Berisavljević, were caught by surprise. Before the event, they tried to find a middle ground and negotiate with Milošević, expressing cautious support for the constitutional changes while trying to keep their and Vojvodina's position intact. However, the avalanche of media campaign orchestrated from Belgrade was about to overwhelm them; they were labeled as power-hungry "armchair
Armchair revolutionary
Armchair revolutionary is a pejorative term, generally used within the Radical Left and other left-revolutionary movements, to describe a person who endlessly criticizes the thoughts, ideology or practice of social movements or armed groups from a metaphorical armchair — i.e., from a mostly or...
ers" (foteljaši) and "autonomists" (autonomaši).
In vain, someone from the government tried to cut off the power and water supply to the protesters, a move which enraged the mass further still, and caused even more people from Novi Sad and vicinity to join. When the electricity supply was restored, they tried a different tactic: in order to cheer the demonstrators up, they gave them bread and yogurt: thousands of yogurt packages were soon thrown at the Parliament building by the angry people. The term "Yogurt revolution" for the protest was named after that episode.
On October 6, the entire presidentship of Vojvodina resigned. They would soon be replaced with Milošević's men of trust, Nedeljko Šipovac, Radovan Pankov and 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...
.
The Ušće rally
The rally 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...
, at Ušće (the large field at confluence of Sava River
Sava River
The Sava is a river in Southeast Europe, a right side tributary of the Danube river at Belgrade. Counting from Zelenci, the source of Sava Dolinka, it is long and drains of surface area. It flows through Slovenia, Croatia, along the northern border of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and through Serbia....
into Danube
Danube
The Danube is a river in the Central Europe and the Europe's second longest river after the Volga. It is classified as an international waterway....
) was held on November 19, 1988. According to the state press, it gathered about a million people, and according to others, several hundred thousands. It was conceived as a "mother of all rallies", and a huge crowd of people come from all parts of Serbia by public and factory buses taken just for this opportunity. Milošević reaffirmed his and Serbia's confinement to the principles of liberty and Serbian equity within Yugoslavia:
We will win the battle for KosovoKosovoKosovo is a region in southeastern Europe. Part of the Ottoman Empire for more than five centuries, later the Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija within Serbia...
regardless of the obstacles placed in front of us in the country and abroad. So, we will win regardless of the uniting of our enemies from abroad and those in the country. And that this nation will win the battle for freedom, is a fact well-known even to the TurkishOttoman EmpireThe Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
and GermanNazi GermanyNazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
conquerors.
October 1988 - January 1989: Montenegro
Rallies and media were also similarly used in Montenegro with the first rally in support of Kosovo Serbs and Kosovo Montenegrins taking place in Titograd on August 20, 1988. The leadership of the Montenegrin Communist LeagueLeague of Communists of Montenegro
The League of Communists of Montenegro was the Montenegrin branch of the League of Communists of Yugoslavia, the sole legal party of Yugoslavia from 1945 to 1990...
was on the defense at the time, claiming that it was also "protecting Kosovo", but their restraint in direct support for Milošević was deemed not good enough by the putschists.
What eventually proved to be the coup's first act occurred on October 7, 1988, when Montenegrin police intervened against protesters in Žuta Greda who demanded resignations from the current Montenegrin leadership. In order to deal with the situation the leadership proclaimed the state of emergency
State of emergency
A state of emergency is a governmental declaration that may suspend some normal functions of the executive, legislative and judicial powers, alert citizens to change their normal behaviours, or order government agencies to implement emergency preparedness plans. It can also be used as a rationale...
. The state of emergency didn't last long though, as it was taken as act of hostility towards Serbia by media outlets controlled by Milošević as well as Milošević's supporters in Montenegro.
The second act started with joint rallies consisting of workers from Radoje Dakić state-owned factory and Veljko Vlahović University students. On January 10, 1989, over 10,000 protesters gathered in Titograd and the old leadership, confused and disorganised, soon gave in; none of them later played a significant political role. The new "young lions" of the Montenegro, Momir Bulatović
Momir Bulatovic
Momir Bulatović , formerly served as a Yugoslavian and Montenegrin politician. Bulatović became federal President of Montenegro while Montenegro was part of a Yugoslav federation, and also Prime Minister of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia...
, Milo Đukanović and Svetozar Marović
Svetozar Marovic
Svetozar Marović ; born March 31, 1955) is a lawyer and a Montenegrin politician. He was the only president of Serbia and Montenegro...
, became the new leadership, strongly allied with Milošević in the years to come. The League of Communists of Montenegro was subsequently transformed by the "triumvirate" who had full control over the (Socialist) Republic of Montenegro into the Democratic Party of Socialists of Montenegro
Democratic Party of Socialists of Montenegro
The Democratic Party of Socialists of Montenegro is the ruling social-democratic political party in Montenegro....
, which vigorously maintained its grip over Montenegro and does so to this day more than 20 years later.