{{Short description|2000 overthrow of Yugoslav President Slobodan Milošević}} {{Use dmy dates|date=March 2020}} {{Infobox civil conflict | name = Bulldozer Revolution | part_of = the [[Yugoslav Wars]] and the [[colour revolution]]s | image = [[File:Petooktobarska revolucija.png|300px]]
[[File:5. oktobar mapa.png|300px]] | caption = Top: Protesters at the House of the Federal Assembly of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, as it was on fire
Bottom: Map of significant buildings during the protests | date = {{start and end dates|2000|9|29|2000|10|5|df=yes}}
({{Age in years, months, weeks and days|month1=09|day1=29|year1=2000|month2=10|day2=05|year2=2000}}) | location = [[Republic of Serbia (1992–2006)|Serbia]], [[Federal Republic of Yugoslavia|FR Yugoslavia]] * [[Belgrade]] * [[Novi Sad]] * [[Čačak]] | coordinates = | causes = * Accusations of [[electoral fraud]]{{cite web |author=Nicović, Boško |date=4 October 2010 |title=Hronologija: Od kraja bombardovanja do 5. oktobra |lang=sr |website=B92.net |url=http://www.b92.net/info/petioktobar/dogadjaji.php?nav_id=462732 |access-date=29 January 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120826034029/http://www.b92.net/info/petioktobar/dogadjaji.php?nav_id=462732 |archive-date=26 August 2012 |df=dmy-all}} * [[Media censorship]]{{cite news |author=Rowland, Jacky |date=18 March 2000 |title=Serbia clamps down on media |website=[[BBC News]] |url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/682132.stm |access-date=29 January 2014 |archive-date=3 February 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140203041144/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/682132.stm |url-status=live }}{{cite news |title=Clashes after Serb media raid |date=17 May 2000 |website=[[BBC News]] |url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/752373.stm |access-date=29 January 2014}} * [[Sanctions against Yugoslavia|International sanctions]]{{cite book |author1=Webel, Charles |author2=Galtung, Johan |date=12 March 2017 |title=Handbook of Peace and Conflict Studies |publisher=Routledge |pages=75 |isbn=9781134154814 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=F9OkPz_L61MC}}{{cite news |author=Ash, Timothy Garton |date=3 November 2000 |title=Today we will be free or die |newspaper=[[The Guardian]] |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2000/nov/03/balkans |access-date=7 February 2017 |archive-date=23 June 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220623224325/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2000/nov/03/balkans |url-status=live }} * [[Yugoslav Wars]]{{cite news |author=Rennebohm, Max |date=8 September 2011 |title=Serbians overthrow Milosevic ("Bulldozer Revolution"), 2000 |website=Global Nonviolent Action Database |url=http://nvdatabase.swarthmore.edu/content/serbians-overthrow-milosevic-bulldozer-revolution-2000 |access-date=7 February 2017 |archive-date=8 February 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170208132914/http://nvdatabase.swarthmore.edu/content/serbians-overthrow-milosevic-bulldozer-revolution-2000 |url-status=live }} * [[Autocracy]] * [[Government corruption]] * [[Political violence]] * [[Police brutality]] * Arrests of [[Otpor!]] activists | goals = * Removal of [[Slobodan Milošević]] and all of his government representation{{cite AV media |date=2000-09-01 |title=Three Points |website=[[YouTube]] |medium=video |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3aMoi_9Jerc |access-date=19 December 2022 |archive-date=19 December 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221219180424/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3aMoi_9Jerc |url-status=live }} * [[Regime change]] * [[Democratization]] * [[Freedom of the media]] * [[2000 Serbian parliamentary election|Free and fair elections]] | methods = * [[Protests]] * [[Political demonstration|Demonstrations]] * [[Riot]]s * [[Civil disobedience]] * [[Civil resistance]] * [[Occupation (protest)|Occupation]] of administrative buildings * [[Barricades]] * [[Property damage]] * [[Violence]] * [[Vandalism]] * [[Traffic obstruction]] * [[Looting]] | result = [[Democratic Opposition of Serbia|DOS]] victory * Slobodan Milošević resigns * [[Vojislav Koštunica]] declared winner * Withdrawal of [[Sanctions against Yugoslavia|international sanctions]] * Yugoslavia becomes a [[Member states of the United Nations|member of the United Nations]] and other international organizations * [[Democratic Opposition of Serbia|DOS]] secured a [[supermajority]] in the [[2000 Serbian parliamentary election|parliamentary elections]] * Return of the [[Yugoslav Army (FRY)|Yugoslav Army]] to the [[Ground Safety Zone]] * The arrest of Slobodan Milošević and extradition to [[ICTY]] to stand [[Trial of Slobodan Milošević|trial for charges of war crimes]] | side1 = '''Anti-government protesters led by [[Democratic Opposition of Serbia]]''' * Civilian and student protesters * {{flagdeco|EU}} [[Pro-EU]] supporters * {{flagicon image|Flag of the Serbian Cross.svg}} [[Serbian nationalism|Nationalists]] * {{flagicon image|Flag of Serbia (1882–1918).svg}} [[Monarchism in Serbia|Monarchists]] * {{symbol|Serbian Cross1.svg}} [[Serbian Orthodox Church]] * Defected policemen '''Civic organizations:''' *[[Otpor!]] '''{{small|Supported by:}}'''
{{flagicon image|Flag of Montenegro (1993–2004).svg}} [[Government of Montenegro|Government]] of [[Republic of Montenegro (1992–2006)|Montenegro]]
{{country|United States}}{{cite magazine |last=Thompson |first=Nicholas |date=2007-01-09 |title=This ain't your momma's CIA |magazine=[[Washington Monthly]] |url=http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/features/2001/0103.thompson.html |access-date= |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070109084028/http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/features/2001/0103.thompson.html |archive-date=9 January 2007 |url-status=dead}} | side2 = {{flagdeco|Serbia and Montenegro}} [[Politics of Serbia and Montenegro|'''Federal government of Yugoslavia''']] * {{flagicon image|Flag of Serbia (1992–2004).svg}} [[Second cabinet of Mirko Marjanović|Government]] of [[Republic of Serbia (1992-2006)|Serbia]] ** {{symbol|Ministry of Interior - Serbia.svg}} [[Ministry of Internal Affairs (Serbia)|Ministry of Interior]] *** {{flagicon image|Flag of the Police Administration in Serbia.png}} [[Police of Serbia]] '''Government parties:''' * {{flagicon image|Flag of the Socialist Party of Serbia.svg}} [[Socialist Party of Serbia]] * {{flagicon image|Flag of the Socialist People's Party of Montenegro.svg}} [[Socialist People's Party of Montenegro]] * [[Yugoslav Left]] | lead_figures1 = [[Vojislav Koštunica]]
[[Zoran Đinđić]]
[[Velimir Ilić]]
[[Goran Svilanović]]
[[Čedomir Jovanović]]
[[Srđa Popović (activist)|Srđa Popović]] | lead_figures2 = [[Slobodan Milošević]]
[[Momir Bulatović]]
[[Mirko Marjanović]]
[[Radomir Marković]]
[[Mirjana Marković]] | how_many1 = Hundreds of thousands | how_many2 = Unknown number of policemen | casualties1 = | casualties2 = | fatalities = 2 (non-violent) | injuries = 65 | arrests = | casualties_label = | notes = }} {{Milošević sidebar}} The overthrow of [[Slobodan Milošević]], president of the [[Federal Republic of Yugoslavia]], began after the [[2000 Yugoslavian general election|general election]] on 24 September 2000 and culminated on 5 October 2000. It is commonly referred to as the '''5 October Revolution''' ({{langx|sr|Петооктобарска револуција|Petooktobarska revolucija}}) or as the '''Bulldozer Revolution''' ({{langx|sr|Багер револуција|Bager revolucija|label=none}}), after an event during the day-long protest in which a heavy equipment operator charged the [[Radio Television of Serbia]] building, considered to be symbolic of the [[Propaganda during the Yugoslav Wars|Milošević regime's propaganda]]. ==Prelude== Milošević's rule had been described by observers as [[authoritarian]] or [[autocratic]], as well as [[kleptocratic]], with numerous accusations of [[electoral fraud]], political assassinations, [[Media freedom in Serbia|suppression of media freedom]] and [[police brutality]].{{cite web |url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/931018.stm|title=Milosevic: Serbia's fallen strongmany |date=30 March 2001 |website=[[BBC News]] |access-date=12 December 2018}}{{cite journal |last1=Sell |first1=Louis |date=1999 |title=Slobodan Milošević: A political biography |journal=Problems of Post-Communism |volume=46 |issue=6 |pages=12–27 |doi=10.1080/10758216.1999.11655857}}{{Cite book |first1=Mike |last1=Keen |first2=Janusz |last2=Mucha |year=2013 |title=Autobiographies of Transformation: Lives in Central and Eastern Europe |publisher=Routledge |page=176}}{{cite magazine |first=Richard |last=Byrne |date=2 November 2009 |title=Balkan bottom line |magazine=Foreign Policy |url=https://foreignpolicy.com/2009/11/02/balkan-bottom-line/ |access-date=17 November 2019 |archive-date=3 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231003121436/https://foreignpolicy.com/2009/11/02/balkan-bottom-line/ |url-status=live }} He became the first sitting head of state to be charged with war crimes.{{cite news |title=Milosevic indictment makes history |date=27 May 1999 |website=CNN |url=http://edition.cnn.com/WORLD/europe/9905/27/kosovo.milosevic.04/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20020114050804/http://edition.cnn.com/WORLD/europe/9905/27/kosovo.milosevic.04/|url-status=dead|archive-date=14 January 2002}} His role in the [[Yugoslav Wars]] led to international [[sanctions against Yugoslavia]], which had a devastating impact on the Yugoslav economy and society, while [[NATO bombing of Yugoslavia|NATO bombing]] significantly damaged the country's infrastructure.{{cite report |last=Becker |first=Richard |year=2005 |section=The role of sanctions in the destruction of Yugoslavia (excerpt) |title=NATO in the Balkans |publisher=IA center |section-url=http://www.iacenter.org/bosnia/becker.htm |url-status=dead |access-date=17 November 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150304045032/http://www.iacenter.org/bosnia/becker.htm |archive-date=4 March 2015}}{{cite news |first=Stephen |last=Zunes |date=6 July 2009 |title=The US war on Yugoslavia: Ten years later |website=[[HuffPost]] |url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/stephen-zunes/the-us-war-on-yugoslavia_b_211172.html |url-status=live |access-date=16 April 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170831132221/http://www.huffingtonpost.com/stephen-zunes/the-us-war-on-yugoslavia_b_211172.html |archive-date=31 August 2017}} While the overthrow of Milošević was reported as a spontaneous revolution, there had been a year-long battle involving thousands of Serbs in a strategy to remove the leader's legitimacy, turn his security forces against him, and force him to call for elections, the result of which he would not acknowledge.{{cite AV media |title=Bringing Down a Dictator |people=Steve York |publisher=PBS |date=April 2003 |medium=TV documentary |website=aforcemorepowerful.org |url=http://www.aforcemorepowerful.org/films/bdd/story/index.php |url-status=dead |access-date=8 April 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060424081345/http://www.aforcemorepowerful.org/films/bdd/story/index.php |archive-date=24 April 2006}} In 1998, a dozen students met to form [[Otpor|Otpor!]] (Serbian for "resistance"). Analysing the [[1996–1997 Serbian protests|1996–97 protests]], they realised they needed more effective organisation, strategy, planning, and recruiting for a sustained fight. Galvanised by outrage over new laws that imposed political control of their universities and harassment of independent media, the Otpor students called for the removal of Milošević and the establishment of democracy and the rule of law.{{Cite web |last1=Lakey |first1=George |author-link1=George Lakey |last2=Marovic |first2=Ivan |date=2024-05-22 |title=Overcoming Despair and Apathy to Win Democracy |url=https://commonslibrary.org/overcoming-despair-and-apathy-to-win-democracy/ |access-date=2024-09-19 |website=The Commons Social Change Library |language=en-AU |archive-date=12 September 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240912120838/https://commonslibrary.org/overcoming-despair-and-apathy-to-win-democracy/ |url-status=live }} Prior to this, Milošević was cracking down on opposition, non-government organisations and independent media. From 1991 onwards there were campaigns of [[civil resistance]] against his administration that were to culminate in the largely non-violent revolution of October 2000.{{cite book |first=Ivan |last=Vejvoda |section=Civil Society vs. Milošević: Serbia, 1991–2000 |editor1-link=Adam Roberts (scholar) |editor1=Roberts, Adam |editor2-link=Timothy Garton Ash |editor2=Ash, Timothy G. |title=Civil Resistance and Power Politics: The experience of non-violent action from Gandhi to the present |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2009 |pages=295–316 |isbn=978-0-19-955201-6 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BxOQKrCe7UUC&q=Civil+resistance+and+power+politics}} As the end of his first term in office of the [[President of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia|president of Yugoslavia]] approached (previously, he had been elected [[president of Serbia]], in two terms, from 1989 to 1997), on 6 July 2000, the rules of the election of the president were changed. Whilst the president of Yugoslavia had previously been chosen for one term only by the legislature, in the Yugoslav parliament, it was now to be directly elected via the [[Two-round system|two-round voting system]] of presidential elections with a maximum of two terms.{{cite news |last1=Erlanger |first1=Steven |title=Change in Yugoslav Constitution Allows Milosevic to Seek Another Term as President |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2000/07/07/world/change-yugoslav-constitution-allows-milosevic-seek-another-term-president.html |work=The New York Times |date=7 July 2000 |archive-date=26 September 2023 |access-date=26 September 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230926171950/https://www.nytimes.com/2000/07/07/world/change-yugoslav-constitution-allows-milosevic-seek-another-term-president.html |url-status=live }} Many onlookers believed that Milošević's intentions for supporting such reforms had more to do with holding power than with improving democracy.{{cite news |title=Milosevic: No signs of bowing out |date=6 July 2000 |website=[[BBC News]] |url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/822194.stm |archive-date=18 August 2025 |access-date=15 September 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250818082853/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/822194.stm |url-status=live }} On 27 July 2000, the authorities announced that the [[2000 Federal Republic of Yugoslavia presidential election|early elections]] were to be held 24 September 2000, although Milošević's term wouldn't expire until 23 July 2001. The elections for the upper house of the federal parliament, Council of Citizens (''Veće građana''), as well as the local elections were also scheduled to be held on the same date.{{cite web |title=Izbori 24. Septembra |url=https://www.b92.net/info/vesti/index.php?yyyy=2000&mm=07&dd=27&nav_category=1&nav_id=9550 |website=B92 |date=27 July 2000 |access-date=26 September 2023 |archive-date=26 September 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230926171959/https://www.b92.net/info/vesti/index.php?yyyy=2000&mm=07&dd=27&nav_category=1&nav_id=9550 |url-status=live }} On 25 August 2000, [[Ivan Stambolić]], a former mentor and political ally of Milošević, was mysteriously kidnapped and detained from his home and was summarily executed in [[Fruška Gora]]. The hit was believed to have been initiated by Milošević so he could prevent Stambolić from being a potential electoral opponent. His decomposed body was found three years later in March 2003.{{cite web|url=http://www.b92.net/feedback/misljenja/barovic-stambolic.php|title=Detention and Disappearance of Ivan Stambolic|work=b92.net|access-date=21 February 2015|archive-date=23 December 2001|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20011223044946/http://www.b92.net/feedback/misljenja/barovic-stambolic.php|url-status=live}}{{cite web |url=http://www.cnn.com/2003/WORLD/europe/03/28/serbia.stambolic/ |title=Ex-Serb president's body found |date=March 28, 2003 |work=CNN |access-date=21 February 2015 |archive-date=21 February 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150221045418/http://www.cnn.com/2003/WORLD/europe/03/28/serbia.stambolic/ |url-status=live }} The four officers who had kidnapped him were sentenced. Milošević was charged for initiating the assassination.{{cite news |title=Milosevic charged over killing of rival |date=24 April 2003 |website=[[BBC News]] |department=Europe |url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/2973869.stm |archive-date=8 December 2024 |access-date=15 September 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241208082641/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/2973869.stm |url-status=live }}{{cite web |title=Ulemeku 40 godina, Markoviću 15 |lang=sr |website=[[B92]].net |date=18 July 2005 |url=http://www.b92.net/info/vesti/index.php?dd=18&mm=7&yyyy=2005 |access-date=30 July 2008 |archive-date=7 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221007002716/https://www.b92.net/info/vesti/index.php?dd=18&mm=7&yyyy=2005 |url-status=live }} ==Elections== {{Main|2000 Yugoslavian general election}} The vote took place on 24 September 2000. The DOS coalition reported that [[Vojislav Koštunica]] won over half of the votes, enough to defeat Milošević in a single round. The government-controlled Federal Electoral Committee claimed that no candidate won over 50% of the votes and that a second round between Koštunica and Milošević would take place.{{cite book |title=Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: Report Submitted to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, U.S. House of Representatives and Committee on Foreign Relations, U.S. Senate by the Department of State in Accordance with Sections 116(d) and 502B(b) of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, as Amended, Volume 1 |date=2001 |publisher=U.S. Government Printing Office |page=1952 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0VJBaFvl30sC&pg=PA1952 |archive-date=26 September 2023 |access-date=26 September 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230926175539/https://books.google.com/books?id=0VJBaFvl30sC&pg=PA1952 |url-status=live }} These unexpected results provoked stronger accusations of election fraud and led DOS to call for peaceful protests to topple the government.{{cite book |editor1-last=Anderson |editor1-first=Gary L. |editor2-last=Herr |editor2-first=Kathryn G. |title=Encyclopedia of Activism and Social Justice |date=2007 |publisher=SAGE Publications |isbn=9781452265650 |page=1277 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fy11AwAAQBAJ&pg=PT1397 |archive-date=26 September 2023 |access-date=26 September 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230926175538/https://books.google.com/books?id=fy11AwAAQBAJ&pg=PT1397 |url-status=live }} Some obvious irregularities could be found in the Federal Electoral Committee official results. For example, the sum of the numbers of valid and invalid votes was not equal to the number of voters; the sum of the numbers of the voters voting at the [[polling station]]s and the voters voting at home exceeded the total number of voters; the sum of the numbers of the used and the unused ballot papers was short by 117,244 in comparison to the number of eligible voters, the number of eligible voters was different from the one announced before the elections and has differed in the presidential, federal and local elections results.{{cite news |title=OKO IZBORA 4 |page=59 |date=2000 |lang=sr |website=CeSID |url=https://www.cesid.rs/pdfovi/OKO%20IZBORA%204.pdf |archive-date=24 January 2024 |access-date=24 January 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240124201417/https://www.cesid.rs/pdfovi/OKO%20IZBORA%204.pdf |url-status=live }} All of these discrepancies provoked massive outrage.{{cite news |date=5 October 2016 |script-title=sr:''Годишњица Петог октобра'' |lang=sr |website=[[Radio Television of Serbia]] |url=http://www.rts.rs/page/stories/ci/story/124/drustvo/2476957/godisnjica-petog-oktobra.html |access-date=19 April 2019 |archive-date=3 June 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220603163325/https://www.rts.rs/page/stories/ci/story/124/drustvo/2476957/godisnjica-petog-oktobra.html |url-status=live }} The results were declared false immediately after Milošević was removed, and revised official results were released shortly afterwards. The new results were practically the same, except for the number of total votes and the votes for Milošević, both of which were lower by 125,000–130,000 votes, thus giving Koštunica an absolute, if narrow, first-round victory; Koštunica finished with just 11,843 votes over the threshold to avoid a runoff (4,916,920 voters cast their votes, so 2,458,461 votes were needed for a "50% of turnout + 1 vote" first round victory; Koštunica got 2,470,304 votes{{cite web |title=Serbia and Montenegro |department=Results |website=ElectionGuide.org |url=https://www.electionguide.org/elections/id/1822/ |access-date=24 August 2024 |archive-date=24 August 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240824131820/https://www.electionguide.org/elections/id/1822/ |url-status=live }}). {| class=wikitable style="text-align:right" |+ Differences between the official results proclaimed
by Federal Electoral Committee before and after 5 October |- !colspan=2 rowspan=2| Candidate !rowspan=2| Nominator !colspan=2| Official results
(28 September 2000){{cite web |department=Federal Electoral Committee |title=Official results of the election |publisher=[[Government of Serbia]] |date=28 September 2000 |lang=sr |url=http://www.arhiva.srbija.gov.rs/vesti/2000-09/28/21673.html |access-date=6 December 2010 |archive-date=19 October 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171019152334/http://www.arhiva.srbija.gov.rs/vesti/2000-09/28/21673.html |url-status=live }} !colspan=2| Official results
(10 October 2000){{cite web |title=Serbia and Montenegro |department=Results |website=ElectionGuide.org |url=https://www.electionguide.org/elections/id/1822/ |access-date=24 August 2024 |archive-date=24 August 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240824131820/https://www.electionguide.org/elections/id/1822/ |url-status=live }} |- ! Votes !! % !! Votes !! % |- |style="background:{{party color|Democratic Opposition of Serbia}}"| |align=left| [[Vojislav Koštunica]] |align=left| {{nowrap|[[Democratic Opposition of Serbia]]}} | 2,474,392 || 48.96% || 2,470,304 || 50.24% |- |style="background:{{party color|Socialist Party of Serbia}}"| |align=left| {{nowrap|[[Slobodan Milošević]]}} |align=left| [[Socialist Party of Serbia|SPS]]–[[Yugoslav Left|JUL]]–[[Socialist People's Party of Montenegro|SNP]] | 1,951,761 || 38.62% || 1,826,799 || 37.15% |- |style="background:{{party color|Serbian Radical Party}}"| |align=left| [[Tomislav Nikolić]] |align=left| [[Serbian Radical Party]] | 292,759 || 5.79% || 289,013 || 5.88% |- | style="background:{{party color|Serbian Renewal Movement}}"| |align=left| [[Vojislav Mihailović]] |align=left| [[Serbian Renewal Movement]] | 146,585 || 2.90% || 145,019 || 2.95% |- | style="background:#ff0"| |align=left| {{nowrap|Miodrag Vidojković}} |align=left| Affirmative Party | 46,421 || 0.92% || 45,964 || 0.93% |- |align=right colspan=3| '''Total valid votes''' (percentage of total votes) |'''4,911,918''' || 97.20% || '''4,778,929''' || 97.19% |- |align=right colspan=3| Invalid votes (percentage of total votes) | 135,371 || 2.68% || 137,991 || 2.81% |- |align=right colspan=3|Total votes (turnout) | 5,053,428 || 69.70% || 4,916,920 || 71.55% |- |align=right colspan=3| Eligible voters | 7,249,831 ||   || 6,871,595 ||   |} {{Revolution sidebar}} ==Protests and overthrow== The protests initially started with strikers at the [[Kolubara]] [[coal]] mines on 29 September, which produced most of [[Serbia]]'s electricity.{{cite web |title=Neke vođe štrajka nisu bile na proslavi godišnjice |website=blic.rs |date=10 January 2001 |url=http://www.blic.rs/vesti/politika/neke-vode-strajka-nisu-bile-na-proslavi-godisnjice/f03y2f9 |access-date=8 April 2018 |archive-date=22 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220522134719/https://www.blic.rs/vesti/politika/neke-vode-strajka-nisu-bile-na-proslavi-godisnjice/f03y2f9 |url-status=live }} The protest reached its height on 5 October 2000. Several hundred thousand protesters from all over Serbia arrived in [[Belgrade]] to protest, chanting "Gotov je!" ("He's finished!"){{cite news |title=Serbia as one example of US meddling in foreign elections |url=https://www.b92.net/eng/news/world.php?yyyy=2018&mm=02&dd=19&nav_id=103524 |access-date=22 February 2019 |date=19 February 2018 |language=en |archive-date=22 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220522134721/https://www.b92.net/eng/news/world.php?yyyy=2018&mm=02&dd=19&nav_id=103524 |url-status=live }}{{cite news |last=Shane |first=Scott |date=17 February 2018 |title=Russia isn't the only one meddling in elections. We do it, too |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/17/sunday-review/russia-isnt-the-only-one-meddling-in-elections-we-do-it-too.html |access-date=22 February 2019 |archive-date=19 February 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180219201141/https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/17/sunday-review/russia-isnt-the-only-one-meddling-in-elections-we-do-it-too.html |url-status=live }} Unlike previous protests, there was no large scale police crackdown. The parliament was partially burned during the protests.{{cite news |title=Yugoslav protesters set parliament on fire |date=5 October 2000 |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |page=1 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2000/10/05/continuous/yugoslav-protesters-set-parliament-on-fire.html |archive-date=21 October 2022 |access-date=21 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221021150928/https://www.nytimes.com/2000/10/05/continuous/yugoslav-protesters-set-parliament-on-fire.html |url-status=live }} '''Ljubisav Đokić'''{{efn|{{lang-sr-Cyrl|Љубисав Ђокић}}; nicknamed "Džo" ("Џо"), the Serbian phonetical translation of ''Joe''}} (1943–2020) was a [[wheel loader]] operator who became the main symbol of the overthrow.{{cite web |title=Simbol "oktobarske revolucije", bagerista Ljubisav Đokić Džo za "Glas": Ako ne budu dobri |website=Glas javnosti |date=24 November 2000 |url=http://arhiva.glas-javnosti.rs/arhiva/2000/11/24/srpski/R00112301.shtm |access-date=20 May 2017 |archive-date=5 October 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111005215429/http://arhiva.glas-javnosti.rs/arhiva/2000/11/24/srpski/R00112301.shtm |url-status=live }} (interview) Đokić turned on his wheel loader (not [[bulldozer]], as the event's colloquial name suggests) and rammed a [[Public broadcasting|public broadcaster]] building in Belgrade with it. Đokić had a [[Vertebral column|spinal]] [[deformity]] and at the time he was a timber yard and construction material warehouse owner. The building's tenant, Serbian state television [[Radio Television of Serbia|RTS]], had for a decade been a symbol and bastion of Milošević's rule. When their studios were taken over, the station was quickly renamed ''Novi RTS'' ("New RTS") as a sign that the regime had lost power.{{cite thesis |last=Radovic |first=Ivanka |date=August 2010 |title=Radio-Television of Serbia (1989-2009): The changing role of state TV in a post-communist country |degree=Master of Science |department=Communication and Information |publisher=[[University of Tennessee]] |url=https://trace.tennessee.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1757&context=utk_gradthes |archive-date=21 October 2022 |access-date=21 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221021201259/https://trace.tennessee.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1757&context=utk_gradthes |url-status=live }} Although the protest was mostly peaceful, without a larger escalation of violence, 65 people were injured in the riots{{cite news |title=Parties, citizens mark 5 October |date=5 October 2007 |website=[[B92]].net |url=http://www.b92.net/eng/news/politics.php?yyyy=2007&mm=10&dd=05&nav_category=90&nav_id=44315 |access-date=29 January 2014 |archive-date=19 October 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171019151744/http://www.b92.net/eng/news/politics.php?yyyy=2007&mm=10&dd=05&nav_category=90&nav_id=44315 |url-status=live }} and two people died: * Jasmina Jovanović fell under a wheel loader{{cite web |title=Otkriven spomenik Jasmini Jovanović |website=[[B92]].net |date=5 October 2002 |lang=sr |url=http://www.b92.net/info/vesti/index.php?yyyy=2002&mm=10&dd=05&nav_id=72070 |access-date=23 February 2011 |archive-date=4 November 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121104182015/http://www.b92.net/info/vesti/index.php?yyyy=2002&mm=10&dd=05&nav_id=72070 |url-status=live }} or, according to other sources, a truck. * Momčilo Stakić succumbed to a fatal heart attack.{{cite web |title=Momčilo Stakić umro na ulicama Beograda |date=6 October 2000 |website=[[Glas javnosti]] |lang=sr |url=http://arhiva.glas-javnosti.rs/arhiva/2000/10/07/srpski/P00100607.shtm |access-date=9 June 2011 |archive-date=20 January 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120120050546/http://arhiva.glas-javnosti.rs/arhiva/2000/10/07/srpski/P00100607.shtm |url-status=live }} In the time between elections and the protest, Milošević said that he would resign but only when his term expired in June 2001. Due to pressure caused by the protests, Milošević resigned on 5 October 2000. ==U.S. involvement in the revolution== For a year leading up to the elections, the United States-funded consultants played a crucial role in the anti-Milošević campaign. The key symbol of the campaign was the slogan {{Anchor|Gotov je!}}'''''Gotov je!''''' ({{lang-sr-Cyrl|Готов је!}}, meaning "He is finished!"), created by Otpor!. Part of the U.S. funding of the opposition (a reported $41 million) included 2.5 million stickers with the slogan and 5,000 spray cans for anti-Milošević graffiti. Material was channeled by the U.S. Department of State through [[Quango|QUANGO]]s.{{cite news |last=Dobbs |first=Michael |date=2000-12-11 |title=U.S. advice guided Milosevic opposition |lang=en-US |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |issn=0190-8286 |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/2000/12/11/us-advice-guided-milosevic-opposition/ba9e87e5-bdca-45dc-8aad-da6571e89448/ |access-date= |archive-date=24 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220524024001/https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/2000/12/11/us-advice-guided-milosevic-opposition/ba9e87e5-bdca-45dc-8aad-da6571e89448/ |url-status=live }} In the months leading up to the election, the [[National Endowment for Democracy]] provided funding to opposition parties and media, unions and student groups, with Otpor! being the largest beneficiary.{{cite book |last1=Lamont |first1=Christopher |editor1-last=Lane |editor1-first=David |editor2-last=White |editor2-first=Stephen |title=Rethinking the 'Coloured Revolutions' |date=2013 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=9781317987147 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lf3bAAAAQBAJ&pg=PT128 |chapter=Contested Sovereignty: The International Politics of Regime Change in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia |archive-date=26 September 2023 |access-date=26 September 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230926171950/https://books.google.com/books?id=lf3bAAAAQBAJ&pg=PT128 |url-status=live }} Slobodan Homen, head of international affairs at Otpor, recalled how Secretary of State [[Madeleine Albright]] said at a June 2000 meeting in Berlin that she wanted to see Milošević removed from power.{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/library/magazine/home/20001126mag-serbia.html|title=Who Really Brought Down Milosevic?|access-date=2024-05-27|work=The New York Times|date=2000-11-26|first=Roger|last=Cohen|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170226165528/http://www.nytimes.com/library/magazine/home/20001126mag-serbia.html|archive-date=26 February 2017|url-status=live}} Homen also met at the U.S. Embassy in Hungary with former U.S. Ambassador to Croatia [[William Dale Montgomery]]. According to Montgomery, "Milošević was personal for Madeleine Albright, a very high priority." He added: "She wanted him gone, and Otpor was ready to stand up to the regime with a vigor and in a way that others were not. Seldom has so much fire, energy, enthusiasm, money — everything — gone into anything as into Serbia in the months before Milošević went". The [[International Republican Institute]] trained 400 activists outside the country, who returned to Serbia and trained another 15,000 people to observe polling stations inside the country. On election day, the opposition was able to get a minimum of two trained observers to each polling station in Serbia. Each observer's participation was paid at $5 - money provided by the West (in 2000, the average monthly salary in the country was $30). Researcher [[David Shimer]] wrote that most Serbs did not realize that the U.S. was directing the opposition's electoral strategy and funding the creation and distribution of campaign materials, although this was no secret.{{Cite book|title=Rigged: America, Russia, and One Hundred Years of Covert Electoral Interference|last=Shimer|first=David|publisher=Knopf|year=2020|isbn=978-0525659006|location=New York|pages=109–115}} Among other things, U.S. President [[Bill Clinton]] instructed the [[CIA]] to direct efforts to prevent the Serbian leader from winning the presidential election. According to the American president, "There's a death threshold, and Milošević crossed it." American historian [[Vince Houghton]] said the U.S. had no intention of allowing Milošević to remain in power. [[John Sipher]], who became station chief in Serbia immediately after Milošević's ouster, said the agency spent "certainly millions of dollars" on the campaign against Milošević, organizing meetings with opposition leaders outside the country and "providing them with cash" inside Serbia. Also, he said, "Many of the key players who became senior figures in the follow-on government continued to meet with us and continued to tell us that it was our efforts that led to their success." CIA Deputy Director [[John E. McLaughlin]] noted that "I know stuff about that, but I'm not able to talk about it." Douglas Wise, a CIA official who worked in the Balkans, said Milosevic was a "genocidal maniac"; when asked whether U.S. intelligence supported protests against the Serbian president, he said "It was a broad-spectrum involvement." David Shimer quotes an unnamed senior U.S. administration official in 2000 who took umbrage at the revelations of former U.S. intelligence officers: "I can't talk about what we did or didn't do. I'm just not going to talk about it...They may not take their oaths and legal obligations seriously, but I do." ==Aftermath== A DOS victory was guaranteed in [[2000 Serbian parliamentary election|parliamentary elections in December]], where they achieved a two-thirds majority. On 1 April 2001, Milošević was detained by Serbian police and later transferred to [[The Hague]] to be prosecuted by the [[International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia|ICTY]]. He [[Death of Slobodan Milošević|died in his cell]] on 11 March 2006, a few months before the conclusion of [[Trial of Slobodan Milošević|his four-year trial]].{{cite news |last1=Cohen |first1=Roger |title=To His Death in Jail, Milosevic Exalted Image of Serb Suffering |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/12/world/europe/to-his-death-in-jail-milosevic-exalted-image-of-serb-suffering.html |access-date=22 February 2019 |work=The New York Times |date=12 March 2006 |archive-date=26 April 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190426185842/https://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/12/world/europe/to-his-death-in-jail-milosevic-exalted-image-of-serb-suffering.html |url-status=live }}{{cite news |last1=Simons |first1=Marlise |last2=Smale |first2=Alison |title=Slobodan Milosevic, 64, Former Yugoslav Leader Accused of War Crimes, Dies |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/12/world/europe/slobodan-milosevic-64-former-yugoslav-leader-accused-of-war.html |access-date=22 February 2019 |work=The New York Times |date=12 March 2006 |archive-date=26 March 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190326184753/https://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/12/world/europe/slobodan-milosevic-64-former-yugoslav-leader-accused-of-war.html |url-status=live }} Soon after the overthrow, Ljubisav Đokić started opposing the new government, saying it had done almost nothing to improve the standard of the country. He even said that during Milošević's regime he had owned a successful company, but that post-Milošević politicians created such unhealthy economic conditions that his business failed and he went bankrupt, sold his iconic wheel loader, and was living on 180-euro social benefits.{{cite news |url=http://www.b92.net/info/vesti/index.php?yyyy=2012&mm=10&dd=05&nav_id=648860 |title=Šta sada radi Bagerista Džo? |lang=sr |date=2012-10-05 |website=[[B92]].net |df=dmy-all |archive-date=2 October 2017 |access-date=20 May 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171002072152/http://www.b92.net/info/vesti/index.php?yyyy=2012&mm=10&dd=05&nav_id=648860 |url-status=live }}, {{cite web |url=http://www.izjave.net/author/1395 |script-title=sr:Љубисав Ђокић |language=sr-Cyrl |access-date=20 May 2017 |archive-date=2 October 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171002070628/http://www.izjave.net/author/1395 |url-status=live }} Đokić died on 11 July 2020. The Bulldozer Revolution is thought to have inspired Georgia's [[Rose Revolution]] and other "[[Color Revolution]]s" in following years. Serbia's opposition organisation [[Otpor]] had been involved in training students in civil disobedience in Georgia.{{Cite web|title=Georgian opposition copied Serbs' bloodless revolution|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/georgian-opposition-copied-serbs-bloodless-revolution-80042.html|date=26 November 2003|website=[[The Independent]]|language=en|access-date=1 October 2024|archive-date=7 October 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241007090609/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/georgian-opposition-copied-serbs-bloodless-revolution-80042.html|url-status=live}} ==See also== *[[Nonviolent revolution]] *[[Anti-bureaucratic revolution]] *[[1991 protests in Belgrade|March 1991 protests in Belgrade]] *[[1996–1997 Serbian protests|1996–1997 protests in Serbia]] *[[United States involvement in regime change]] ==Annotations== {{notelist}} ==References== {{reflist|25em}} ==Further reading== {{refbegin|25em|small=y}} ;Books * {{cite book |last1=Bujosevic |first1=D. |last2=Radovanovic |first2=I. |year=2003 |title=The Fall of Milosevic: The October 5th Revolution |publisher=Palgrave Macmillan US |isbn=978-1-4039-7677-2 |url=https://archive.org/details/fallofmilosevico0000bujo |url-access=registration }} * {{cite book |last=Cohen |first=Lenard J. |year=2001 |title=Serpent in the Bosom: The rise and fall of Slobodan Milošević |publisher=Westview Press |isbn=978-0-8133-2902-4 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=i9UYAQAAMAAJ }} * {{cite book |last=Protić |first=Milan St. |year=2005 |title=Izneverena revolucija: 5. oktobar 2000 |publisher=Čigoja štampa |isbn=9788675583103 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SlBpAAAAMAAJ }} *{{cite book |editor-last1=Spasić |editor-first1=Ivana |editor-last2=Subotić |editor-first2=Milan |year=2001 |title=Revolution and Order: Serbia after October 2000 |publisher=IFDT |isbn=978-86-82417-03-3 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Bao8wtdXZbQC }} **{{cite book |last=Goati |first=Vladimir |year=2001 |chapter=The nature of the order and the October overthrow in Serbia |editor-last1=Spasić |editor-first1=Ivana |editor-last2=Subotić |editor-first2=Milan |title=Revolution and Order: Serbia after October 2000 |pages=45 ff |publisher=IFDT |isbn=978-86-82417-03-3 }} ;Journals *{{cite journal |last1=Thompson |first1=M.R. |last2=Kuntz |first2=P. |year=2004 |title=Stolen elections: The case of the Serbian October |journal=Journal of Democracy |volume=15 |issue=4 |pages=159–172 |doi=10.1353/jod.2004.0074 |s2cid=154045557 }} {{refend}} ==External links== *{{cite news |title=Timeline of an uprising |date=6 October 2000 |department=Europe |website=[[BBC News]] |url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/959077.stm }} * {{cite AV media |author=Pajić, Kamenko |year=2000 |title=Downfall of Slobodan Milošević |medium=pictures |series=Photo Stories |website=kamenko.com |location=Belgrade, SR |url=http://kamenko.com/news/stories/bel2000/index.php }} {{Yugoslavia topics}} {{Attacks on legislatures}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Overthrow of Slobodan Milosevic}} [[Category:Overthrow of Slobodan Milošević| ]] [[Category:2000 in Serbia]] [[Category:2000 protests]] [[Category:2000 riots]] [[Category:September 2000 in Europe]] [[Category:October 2000 in Europe]] [[Category:2000s in Belgrade]] [[Category:2000s revolutions]] [[Category:Colour revolutions]] [[Category:Organized events in Belgrade]] [[Category:Protests against results of elections]] [[Category:Protests in Serbia]] [[Category:Riots and civil disorder in Serbia]] [[Category:Student protests in Serbia]] [[Category:Attacks on legislatures in Europe]] [[Category:Democratization]] [[Category:CIA activities in Russia and Europe]]