1991–1992 anti-war protests in Belgrade

Anti-war protests in Belgrade
Anti-war protests in Belgrade
Part of the Yugoslav Wars
	Srđan Gojković from Električni Orgazam performing as part of Rimtutituki
Date	1991 – 1992
Location	Belgrade, Serbia, Yugoslavia
Caused by	Serbian role in Yugoslav Wars Battle of Vukovar; Siege of Dubrovnik; Siege of Sarajevo; War propaganda;
Goals	Withdrawal of the Yugoslav People's Army troops; Referendum on a declaration of war; Disruption of military conscription; Resignation of Slobodan Milošević; Freedom of the media;
Methods	Demonstrations, Protests, Protest songs
Resulted in	50,000–200,000 deserters; 100,000–150,000 conscripts emigrated
Parties
Center for Antiwar Action; Rimtutituki; Women in Black; Humanitarian Law Center; Belgrade Circle	Government of Yugoslavia; Government of Serbia
Lead figures
	Milan Mladenović; Rambo Amadeus; Zoran Kostić; Bogdan Bogdanović; Nataša Kandić Slobodan Milošević; Dobrica Ćosić
Number
>150,000 protesters

Following the rise of nationalism and political tensions, as well as the outbreak of the Yugoslav Wars, numerous anti-war movements developed in Serbia.^[1]^[2]^[3]^[4] The 1991 mass protests against the government of Slobodan Milošević which continued throughout the conflicts reinforced the youth's anti-war orientation.^[5] Demonstrations in Belgrade were held mostly because of opposition to the Battle of Vukovar, Siege of Dubrovnik and Siege of Sarajevo,^[1]^[6]^[7] while protesters demanded a referendum on a declaration of war and disruption of military conscription.^[8]^[9]^[5]

More than 50,000 people participated in many protests, and more than 150,000 people took part in the most massive protest called “The Black Ribbon March” in solidarity with people in Sarajevo.^[10]^[2] It is estimated that between 50,000 and 200,000 people deserted from the Yugoslav People's Army, while between 100,000 and 150,000 people emigrated from Serbia refusing to participate in the war.^[8]^[3]

According to professor Renaud De la Brosse, senior lecturer at the University of Reims and a witness called by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY), it is surprising how great the resistance to Milošević's propaganda was among Serbs, given that and the lack of access to alternative news.^[11] A month after the Battle of Vukovar, opinion polls found that 64% of Serbian people wanted to end the war immediately and only 27% were willing for it to continue.^[12] Political scientists Orli Fridman described that not enough attention was given to anti-war activism among scholars studying the breakup of Yugoslavia and the wars, as well as that independent media and anti-war groups from Serbia did not attract the international attention.^[2]

The main participants

The most famous associations and NGOs who marked the anti-war ideas and movements in Serbia were the Center for Antiwar Action, Women in Black, Humanitarian Law Center and Belgrade Circle.^[3]^[1] The Rimtutituki was a rock supergroup featuring Ekatarina Velika, Električni Orgazam and Partibrejkers members, which was formed at the petition signing against mobilization in Belgrade.^[13] The band organized a concert on the Republic Square and also they performed anti-war songs in an open truck while circulating the Belgrade streets.^[4]^[13]

The most prominent politician who supported protests was Ivan Stambolić.^[13] The Democratic Party, People's Peasant Party, Serbian Liberal Party and Reform Party of Serbia took part in the “Black Ribbon March”.^[6]

The famous architect Bogdan Bogdanović was one of the most prominent anti-war dissident.^[14] The Belgrade citizens who protested against the Siege of Dubrovnik were joined by prominent artists, composers and actors such as Mirjana Karanović and Rade Šerbedžija, who sang jointly “Neću protiv druga svog” (“I can’t go against my friend”).^[15]

Independent media in Serbia reported on anti-war activities with much difficulty, in contrast to Milošević's propaganda, which was aimed at reviving ethnonational sentiments and mobilizing people.^[2] An important role in media coverage was played by the Western-funded electronic media B92 and Studio B.^[2]^[16]^[13]

One of the more famous scenes during the anti-war protests was a tank parked in front of the Parliament Building, which was returned from the battlefield in Vukovar by soldier Vladimir Živković.^[8]^[17]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c Udovicki & Ridgeway 2000, pp. 255–266
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e Fridman 2010
^ ^a ^b ^c "Antiratne i mirovne ideje u istoriji Srbije i antiratni pokreti do 2000. godine". republika.co.rs. 2011. Retrieved 4 May 2020.
^ ^a ^b "Sećanje na antiratni pokret u Jugoslaviji početkom 1990-ih". globalvoices.org. 2016. Retrieved 4 May 2020.
^ ^a ^b Powers 1997, p. 467
^ ^a ^b Ženski sud, 2013
^ "Olovka piše mržnjom". E-novine. 18 May 2009. Archived from the original on 29 July 2016. Retrieved 6 May 2020.
^ ^a ^b ^c "Spomenik neznanom dezerteru". Vreme. 2008. Retrieved 4 May 2020.
^ Udovicki & Ridgeway 2000, p. 258
^ Udovicki & Ridgeway 2000, p. 260
^ "Comment: Milosevic's Propaganda War". Institute for War and Peace Reporting. Retrieved 5 May 2020.
^ Cigar 1996, pp. 40–42
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d "Manje pucaj, više tucaj". Buka. 2012. Retrieved 4 May 2020.
^ Udovicki & Ridgeway 2000, p. 114
^ "Regionalna škola tranzicione pravde - Zbornik" (PDF). Humanitarian Law Center. 2016. p. 118. Retrieved 5 May 2020.
^ Udovicki & Ridgeway 2000, p. 255
^ Mihajlović, Branka (2013). "Spomenik dezerteru, negde u Vojvodini". Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. Retrieved 5 May 2020.

Books

Powers, Roger S (1997). Protest, Power, and Change: An Encyclopedia of Nonviolent Action from ACT-UP to Women's Suffrage. Routledge. ISBN 9781136764820.
Udovicki, Jasminka; Ridgeway, James (2000). Burn This House: The Making and Unmaking of Yugoslavia. Durham, North Carolina: Duke University Press. ISBN 9781136764820.
Cigar, Norman (1996). "The Serbo-Croatian War, 1991". In Meštrović, Stjepan Gabriel (ed.). Genocide After Emotion: The Post-Emotional Balkan War. London: Routledge. ISBN 978-0-415-12293-1.

Journal articles and documents

Fridman, Orli (2010). "'It was like fighting a war with our own people': anti-war activism in Serbia during the 1990s". The Journal of Nationalism and Ethnicity. 39 (4): 507–522. doi:10.1080/00905992.2011.579953. S2CID 153467930.
"Kratka istorija antiratnog otpora u Srbiji 1991 – 1992" (PDF). Ženski sud. 2013. Retrieved 6 May 2020.