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90-501: The party was formally founded in 1937 with Pavle Gregorić as its first general secretary. The reasons for KPJ to have its specifically Croatian branch were partly ideological, partly practical. Croatia, just as Slovenia , which would have its Communist Party at the same time, was the most industrialised part of the country, with the biggest percentage of working class in the population, and, therefore, more likely to adopt communism than rural Serbia . The other, more practical, reason

180-658: A common scheme, strategy or plan on the part of the accused Milošević to create a Greater Serbia , a centralized Serbian state encompassing the Serb-populated areas of Croatia and Bosnia and all of Kosovo, and that this plan was to be achieved by forcibly removing non-Serbs from large geographical areas through the commission of the crimes charged in the indictments. Although the events in Kosovo were separated from those in Croatia and Bosnia by more than three years, they were no more than

270-503: A Croatian politician is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Slobodan Milo%C5%A1evi%C4%87 President of Serbia and Yugoslavia Elections Family Slobodan Milošević ( Serbo-Croatian Cyrillic : Слободан Милошевић , pronounced [slobǒdan milǒːʃevitɕ] ; 20 August 1941 – 11 March 2006) was a Yugoslav and Serbian politician who was the President of Serbia between 1989–1997 and President of

360-488: A continuation of that plan, and they could only be understood completely by reference to what had happened in Croatia and Bosnia." Milošević's defenders claim that the Prosecution could not produce a single order issued by his government to Serbian fighters in Croatia or Bosnia. Near the end of the Prosecution's case, a Prosecution analyst admitted under cross-examination that this was indeed the case. Reynaud Theunens, however,

450-459: A full multi-party confederal state. Milošević claimed that he opposed a confederal system but also declared that a confederal system be created, with the external borders of Serbia being an "open question". Tensions between the republics escalated to crisis beginning in 1988, with Slovenia accusing Serbia of pursuing Stalinism while Serbia accused Slovenia of betrayal. Serbs boycotted Slovene products and Belgraders began removing their savings from

540-446: A government or a leadership were supportive of Milošević, then it would be normal for him to feel indebted to them, not the other way around." He said Milošević enjoyed genuine grassroots support because "his name at that time shone brightly on the political arena of the entire federal Yugoslavia ... and many people saw him as a person who would be finally able to make things move, to get things going." Kosta Bulatović, an organizer of

630-679: A hand in organizing the Novi Sad demonstrations." The demonstrations were successful. The provincial leadership resigned, and the League of Communists of Vojvodina elected a new leadership. In the elections that followed Dr. Dragutin Zelenović , a Milošević ally, was elected member of the SFRY Presidency from Vojvodina. On 10 January 1989, the anti-bureaucratic revolution continued in Montenegro, which had

720-660: A mob of pro-Milošević demonstrators that included 500 Kosovo Serbs and local Serbs demonstrated at the provincial capital, accusing the leadership in Vojvodina of supporting separatism and for being "traitors". In August 1988, meetings by supporters of the Anti-bureaucratic revolution were held in many locations in Serbia and Montenegro, with increasingly violent nature, with calls being heard such as "Give us arms!", "We want weapons!", "Long live Serbia—death to Albanians!", and "Montenegro

810-534: A one-time socialist who turned to nationalism. Milošević contended that such criticism was unfounded and amounted to "spreading fear of Serbia ". In Vojvodina, where 54 percent of the population was Serb, an estimated 100,000 demonstrators rallied outside the Communist Party headquarters in Novi Sad on 6 October 1988 to demand the resignation of the provincial leadership. The majority of protesters were workers from

900-592: A peacemaker in the Yugoslav Wars and abandoned support of nationalism. He returned to support nationalism during the Kosovo War and appealed to anti-imperialist sentiments. The spread of violent nationalism has also been imputed to indifference to it by Milošević. The source of Milošević's nationalistic agenda is believed to have been influenced by the policies of the popular prominent Serbian Communist official and former Yugoslav Partisan Aleksandar Ranković who

990-584: A show trial in Pristina was held in which multiple Albanian Communists of Kosovo were convicted of being infiltrators from Albania and were given long prison sentences. Ranković sought to secure the position of the Serbs in Kosovo and gave them dominance in Kosovo's nomenklatura . Under Ranković's influence, Islam in Kosovo at this time was repressed and both Albanians and ethnically Slavic Muslims were encouraged to declare themselves to be Turkish and emigrate to Turkey. At

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1080-519: A strong crackdown on separatism in Kosovo. Milošević was criticized by opponents, who claimed he and his allies were attempting to strengthen the position of Serbs in Yugoslavia at the expense of Kosovo Albanians and other nationalities, a policy they accused of being nationalist, which was a taboo in the Yugoslav Communist system and effectively a political crime, as nationalism was identified as

1170-531: A violation of the Yugoslav Communists' commitment to Brotherhood and Unity . Milošević always denied allegations that he was a nationalist or that he exploited Serbian nationalism in his rise to power. In a 1995 interview with TIME , he defended himself from these accusations by claiming he stood for every nationality in Yugoslavia: "All my speeches up to '89 were published in my book. You can see that there

1260-551: Is Serbia!" In the same month, Milošević began efforts designed to destabilize the governments in Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina to allow him to install his followers in those republics. By 1989, Milošević and his supporters controlled Central Serbia along with the autonomous provinces of Kosovo and Vojvodina, supporters in the leadership of Montenegro, and agents of the Serbian security service were pursuing efforts to destabilize

1350-670: The Central Committee of the League of Communists of Yugoslavia adopted a set of conclusions aimed at centralizing Serbia's control over law enforcement and the judiciary in its Kosovo and Vojvodina provinces. In the early to mid-1980s, claims were made of a mass exodus of Serbs and Montenegrins from Kosovo as a result of Albanian riots. Serbian nationalists denounced the 1974 Yugoslav constitution and demands for change were strong among Kosovo Serbs. In 1986, Serbian President Ivan Stambolić responded by accepting this position, declaring that

1440-513: The Croatian Spring , advocating for more autonomy of Croatia within Yugoslavia. They advocated against centralism which disproportionately benefited the eastern parts of Yugoslavia, especially Serbia and SR Macedonia . The movement, however, created a lot of ethnic tension and increasing opposition from the more conservative Party members. In December 1971, on the Karađorđevo conference of

1530-502: The Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in 1992, which dismantled the remaining communist infrastructure and created a federal democratic multiparty system of government. Milošević's advocated a synthesis of socialist and liberal economic policies that would gradually transition Serbia from a planned economy to a mixed economy . During the first democratic election in Serbia , Milošević promised to protect industrial workers from

1620-913: The Lijeva Rijeka village in Podgorica and was of the Vasojevići clan from Montenegro . He was born in Požarevac , four months after the Axis invasion of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia , and raised during the Axis occupation of World War II . He had an older brother Borislav who would later become a diplomat. His parents separated in the aftermath of the war . His father, the Serbian Orthodox theologian Svetozar Milošević, committed suicide in 1962. Svetozar's father Simeun

1710-749: The Socialist Alliance of Working People unanimously supported him as presidential candidate for the SKJ's Serbian branch Central Committee. Milošević was elected by a majority vote at the 10th Congress of the Serbian League of Communists on 28 May 1986. Milošević emerged in 1987 as a force in Serbian politics after he declared support for Serbs in the Serbian Socialist Autonomous Province of Kosovo , who claimed they were being oppressed by

1800-491: The Socialist Republic of Macedonia began in 1989 with the introduction of slogans, graffiti, and songs glorifying Milošević. Furthermore, Milošević proposed a law to restore land titles held by Serbs in the interwar period that effectively provided a legal basis for large numbers of Serbs to move to Kosovo and Macedonia to regain those lands. Beginning in 1989, Milošević gave support to Croatian Serbs who were vouching for

1890-555: The Yugoslav wars , Serbia's economy began a prolonged period of economic collapse and isolation. The National Bank of Yugoslavia 's war-related easy money policies contributed to hyperinflation which reached an alarming rate of 313 million percent in January 1994. According to the World Bank , Serbia's economy contracted by 27.2 and 30.5 percent in 1992 and 1993 respectively. In response to

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1980-478: The anti-bureaucratic revolution led to the resignation of the governments of Vojvodina and Montenegro and to the election of officials allied with Milošević. According to the ICTY indictment against Milošević: "From July 1988 to March 1989, a series of demonstrations and rallies supportive of Slobodan Milošević's policies – the 'Anti-Bureaucratic Revolution' – took place in Vojvodina and Montenegro. These protests led to

2070-503: The breakup of Yugoslavia was to take control of Yugoslavia, with the ambition of becoming its next great leader, a "second Tito ". According to this, Milošević exploited nationalism as a tool to seize power in Serbia, while not holding any particular commitment to it. During the first twenty-five years of his political career in the communist government of Yugoslavia, Milošević was a typical civil servant who did not appear to have nationalist aims. Later, he attempted to present himself as

2160-444: The 1970s he was a chairman of large companies as the protégé of Serbian leader Ivan Stambolić . Milošević was a high-ranking member of the League of Communists of Serbia (SKS) during the 1980s; he came to power in 1987 after he ousted opponents, including Stambolić. He was elected president of the Socialist Republic of Serbia in 1989 and led the anti-bureaucratic revolution , reforming Serbia 's constitution and transitioning

2250-414: The 1974 constitution was contrary to the interests of Serbs, though he warned that "certain individuals" were "coquetting" with Serbian nationalism. Stambolić established a commission to amend the Serbian constitution in keeping with conclusions adopted by the federal Communist Party. The constitutional commission worked for three years to harmonize its positions and in 1989 an amended Serbian constitution

2340-575: The 1990s. In 1968, Milošević got a job at the Tehnogas company, where Stambolić was working, and became its chairman in 1973. By 1978, Stambolić's sponsorship had enabled Milošević to become the head of Beobanka, one of Yugoslavia's largest banks; his frequent trips to Paris and New York gave him the opportunity to learn English . On 16 April 1984, Milošević was elected president of the Belgrade League of Communists City Committee. On 21 February 1986,

2430-778: The Croatian Party delegation led by Ivica Račan left the 14th Congress of SKJ , a few hours after the Slovenian Party delegation did so over a row with the Serbian Party delegation. In the next few months, SKH tried very hard to present itself as modern and reformist party, rebranding itself into a new party called the League of Communists of Croatia - Party of Democratic Changes ( Savez komunista Hrvatske - Stranka demokratskih promjena , SKH-SDP), then to just Party of Democratic Changes ( Stranka demokratskih promjena , SDP). Those and other changes, however, weren't very convincing to

2520-576: The Croatian electorate and SKH lost power to Croatian Democratic Union of Franjo Tuđman . In 1991, it was renamed to Socialdemocratic Party of Croatia–Party of Democratic Changes ( Socijaldemokratska partija Hrvatske–Stranka demokratskih promjena , SDPH), that would ultimately become the Social Democratic Party of Croatia in 1993. Another reason why the Party lost support in Croatia was because it

2610-585: The Federal Republic of Yugoslavia from 1997 until his оverthrow in 2000. Milošević played a major role in the Yugoslav Wars and became the first sitting head of state charged with war crimes. Born in Požarevac , he studied law at the University of Belgrade Faculty of Law during which he joined the League of Socialist Youth of Yugoslavia . From the 1960s, he was advisor to the mayor of Belgrade , and in

2700-512: The Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, their flag, coat of arms or anthem, their presidencies, assemblies or executive councils, the president of the executive council in connection with the performance of their office..." The federal criminal code for Yugoslavia also protected the presidents of federal institutions, the Yugoslav Army and federal emblems. Both the Serbian and federal Yugoslav laws granted limited exemptions to journalists. The result

2790-551: The League of Communists of Yugoslavia and adopted democratic multiparty systems, Milošević's government quickly followed suit and the 1990 Serbian Constitution was created. The 1990 Constitution officially renamed the Socialist Republic of Serbia to the Republic of Serbia and abandoned the one-party communist system and created a democratic multiparty system. After the creation of a multiparty system in Serbia, Milošević and his political allies in Serbia elsewhere in Yugoslavia pushed for

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2880-723: The Milošević-controlled Yugoslav People's Army , leading to mass emigration from Serbia. During the NATO bombing of Yugoslavia in 1999, Milošević was charged by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) for war crimes connected to the Bosnian War , Croatian War of Independence and Kosovo War . After resigning from the Yugoslav presidency in 2000 amidst demonstrations against

2970-541: The Montenegrin delegates in the Yugoslav Politburo . Montenegro's representative on the federal presidency, Veselin Đuranović , said the decision to step down "was motivated by a sense of responsibility for the economic situation." Demonstrators were seen carrying portraits of Milošević and shouting his name, but The New York Times reported "there is no evidence that the Serbian leader played an organizing role" in

3060-449: The SKJ hierarchy. After his graduation in 1966, Milošević became an economic advisor to the mayor of Belgrade Branko Pešić . Five years later, he married his childhood friend, Mirjana Marković , with whom he had two children: Marko and Marija. Marković would have some influence on Milošević's political career both before and after his rise to power; she was also leader of her husband's junior coalition partner, Yugoslav Left (JUL) in

3150-493: The SKJ, Tito publicly distanced himself from Croatian Spring, leading to the end of the movement. Using the alleged Croatian nationalism as a pretext, SKH was subsequently purged from most of its liberal and reformist elements. As a result, SKH in the 1970s became one of the most conservative sections of SKJ and remained interested in maintaining ideological and political status quo even when other branches of SKJ began to explore new ideas. Because of that, SKH in late 1980s

3240-592: The Serbian media that the changes were "destabilizing". Serbia's response was a plan to hold demonstrations in Ljubljana with 30,000 to 40,000 Serbs to supposedly inform Slovenes about the situation in Kosovo, while this was suspected to be an action aimed at destabilizing the Slovene government. Croatia and Slovenia prevented the Serb protesters from crossing by train into Slovenia. Serbia responded by breaking political links between

3330-645: The Slovenian Ljubljana Bank . Slovenia accused Serbia of persecuting Kosovo Albanians and declared its solidarity with the Kosovo Albanian people while Milošević in turn, accused Slovenia of being a "lackey" of Western Europe. In response to the escalating tensions, Croatia expressed support for Slovenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina declared its neutrality, while Montenegro supported Serbia. Slovenia reformed its constitution in 1989 that declared Slovenia's right to secession. These changes provoked accusations by

3420-447: The Yugoslav federation. Whether this was cynically engineered by Milošević is a matter of controversy between his critics and his supporters. Because Milošević's supporters controlled half of the votes in the SFRY presidency, his critics charge that he undermined the Yugoslav federation. This, his detractors argue, upset the balance of power in Yugoslavia and provoked separatism elsewhere in

3510-487: The adverse effects of free market policies by maintaining social ownership of the economy and supporting trade barriers in order to protect local industries. Despite this, many accused Milošević of creating a kleptocracy by transferring ownership much of the industrial and financial sector to his political allies and financiers. Under heavy economic sanctions from the United Nations due to Milošević's perceived role in

3600-556: The amendments. Although the ethnic composition of the Kosovo Assembly was over 70 percent Albanian, they were forced to vote in favor of the amendments while under the careful watch of the newly arrived Serbian police forces. Unrest began when amendments were approved restoring Serbian control over the province's police, courts, national defence and foreign affairs. According to a United Press International report, rioting killed 29 people and injured 30 policemen and 97 civilians. In

3690-429: The anti-bureaucratic rallies, said "All of this was spontaneous"; the motivation to protest was "coming from the grassroots." Milošević's critics claim that he cynically planned and organized the anti-bureaucratic revolution to strengthen his political power. Stjepan Mesić , who served as the last president of a united Yugoslavia (in the prelude of these events), said that Milošević, "with the policy he waged, broke down

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3780-586: The autonomous [government in] Vojvodina, which was legally elected, [and] in Montenegro he implemented an anti-bureaucratic revolution, as it's called, by which he destroyed Yugoslavia." Commenting on Milošević's role, Slovene president Milan Kučan said, "none of us believed in Slovenia that these were spontaneous meetings and rallies." He accused the Serbian government of deliberately fanning nationalist passions, and Slovene newspapers published articles comparing Milošević to Italian Fascist dictator Benito Mussolini ,

3870-404: The commotion and was sent outside to calm the situation. A videotape of the event shows Milošević responding to complaints from the crowd that the police were beating people by saying "You will not be beaten". Later that evening, Serbian television aired the video of Milošević's encounter. In Adam LeBor 's biography of Milošević, he says that the crowd attacked the police and Milošević's response

3960-427: The creation of a democratic multiparty system of government at the federal level, such as Serbian state media appealing to the citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina in early 1992 with the promise that Bosnia and Herzegovina could peacefully coexist in a democratic Yugoslav federation alongside the republics of Serbia and Montenegro. In the aftermath, Serbia and Montenegro agreed to create the new Yugoslav federation called

4050-570: The creation of an autonomous province for Croatian Serbs, which was opposed by Croatian communist authorities. In the late 1980s, Milošević allowed the mobilization of Serb nationalist organizations to go unhindered by actions from the Serbian government, with Chetniks holding demonstrations, and the Serbian government embracing the Serbian Orthodox Church and restored its legitimacy in Serbia. Croatia and Slovenia denounced Milošević's actions and began to demand that Yugoslavia be made

4140-725: The creation of the banovina of Croatia within the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. Party's fortunes dramatically changed with the 1941 Axis invasion of Yugoslavia and creation of the Independent State of Croatia . At the beginning of the Axis occupation of Yugoslavia , Aleksandar Ranković was secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Croatia . Although KPH had many of its leading figures arrested and killed by new regime, it remained strong enough to form what would become

4230-420: The creation of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, Milošević's government engaged in reforms to the Serbian penal code regarding restrictions on free speech, which were seen by critics as highly authoritarian . In particular Article 98 of the Serbian penal code during the 1990s punished imprisonment of up to three years for the following: ...public ridicule [of] the Republic of Serbia or another Republic within

4320-450: The date specifically chosen as Republic Day, former public holiday in socialist Yugoslavia – a group of Socialist Labour Party of Croatia dissidents in Vukovar tried to found new political party called Communist Party of Croatia , but in the end they failed to register and organize. A new Communist Party of Croatia  [ hr ] was founded in 2013 and became a registered party in

4410-471: The demonstrations. Multiparty elections were held in Montenegro for the first time after the anti-bureaucratic revolution. Nenad Bućin, an opponent of Milošević's policies, was elected Montenegro's representative on Yugoslavia's collective presidency, and Momir Bulatović , a Milošević ally, was elected Montenegrin President. Beginning in 1982 and 1983, in response to nationalist Albanian riots in Kosovo ,

4500-675: The deteriorating situation, World Bank economist Dragoslav Avramović was nominated the governor of the National Bank of the FR Yugoslavia in March 1994. Avramović began monetary reforms that ended hyperinflation and returned the Serbian economy to economic growth by giving the Yugoslav dinar a 1:1 parity with the Deutsche Mark . Milošević's role in the signing of the Dayton Accords allowed

4590-547: The disputed presidential election , Milošević was arrested by Yugoslav federal authorities in March 2001 on suspicion of corruption, abuse of power, and embezzlement. The initial investigation faltered, and he was extradited to the ICTY to stand trial for war crimes. Milošević denounced the Tribunal as illegal and refused to appoint counsel, conducting his own defence. He died of a heart attack in his cell in The Hague in 2006 before

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4680-765: The federal government about $ 1.05 billion more in revenue. In 1998, Miloševic promised to introduce a new economic program which would begin a process of market reforms, reduction of trade barriers, and the privatization of more state owned enterprises in order to achieve an economic growth rate of 10%. However, this plan was never implemented due to the Kosovo war , the NATO bombing of Yugoslavia , and his subsequent overthrow in October 2000. Milošević's government policies on civil and political rights when serving as Serbian President and later Yugoslav president were controversial. Milošević's government exercised influence and censorship in

4770-442: The federation. Milošević's supporters contend that the representatives of the SFRY presidency were elected according to the law. They say that Milošević enjoyed genuine popular support so it was perfectly logical for his allies to be elected to the presidency. His supporters dismiss allegations that he upset the balance of power in Yugoslavia as a propaganda ploy designed to justify separatism. In 1990, after other republics abandoned

4860-546: The formation of the Communist Party of Croatia there was a Croatian-Slavonian Provincial Committee of the Socialist Workers Party of Yugoslavia (Communists) and there was a developed party structure of the Socialist Party of Croatia and Slavonia. Dalmatia had its own structures up to 1937. KPH, just like KPJ, was illegal and, therefore, remained marginalised, especially after the 1939 Cvetković–Maček Agreement and

4950-461: The government in Bosnia & Herzegovina. The new government of Montenegro led by Momir Bulatović was seen by some as a satellite of Serbia. In 1989, the Serbian media began to speak of "the alleged imperilment of the Serbs of Bosnia and Herzegovina", as tensions between Serbs, Bosniaks and Croats increased over Serb support for Milošević. Efforts to spread the cult of personality of Milošević into

5040-521: The ground for his ascent to power by quietly replacing Stambolić's supporters with his own people, thereby forcing Pavlović and Stambolić from power. In February 1988, Stambolić's resignation was formalized, allowing Milošević to take his place as Serbia's president. Milošević then initiated a program of IMF -supported free-market reforms, setting up in May 1988 the "Milošević Commission" comprising Belgrade's leading neoliberal economists. Starting in 1988,

5130-620: The head of the ideology committee of the Yugoslav Communist League 's (SKJ) League of Socialist Youth of Yugoslavia (SSOJ). While at the university, he befriended Ivan Stambolić , whose uncle Petar Stambolić had been a president of the Serbian Executive Council (the Communist equivalent of a prime minister ). This was to prove a crucial connection for Milošević's career prospects, as Stambolić sponsored his rise through

5220-430: The historic Kosovo field on 24 April 1987. While Milošević was talking to the leadership inside the local cultural hall, demonstrators outside clashed with the local Kosovo-Albanian police force. The New York Times reported that "a crowd of 15,000 Serbs and Montenegrins hurled stones at the police after they used truncheons to push people away from the entrance to the cultural center of Kosovo Polje." Milošević heard

5310-492: The later stages of war. In 1945 Yugoslavia was indeed federalised with Croatia becoming a republic, but its nominal autonomy was of little importance with KPJ being heavily centralised and KPH – renamed into SKH in 1952 – being its integral part. Things began to change in late 1960s with Tito allowing for reformist policies embodied of new generation of Communist leaders. This generation included SKH leaders Savka Dabčević-Kučar and Miko Tripalo who would start movement called

5400-569: The lifting of most economic sanctions, but the FR Yugoslavia was still not allowed access to financial and foreign aid due to the perceived oppression of Albanians in Kosovo . The Serbian economy began growing from the period of 1994–1998, at one point even reaching a growth rate of 10.1 percent in 1997. However, this growth rate was insufficient to return Serbia to its pre-war economic status. In order to pay out pensions and wages, Milošević's socialist government had no choice but to begin selling off Serbia's most profitable telecommunications, which gave

5490-432: The lowest average monthly wage in Yugoslavia, an unemployment rate of nearly 25 percent, and where one-fifth of the population lived below the poverty line. 50,000 demonstrators gathered in the Montenegrin capital of Titograd (now Podgorica ) to protest the republic's economic situation and to demand the resignation of its leadership. The next day, Montenegro's state presidency tendered its collective resignation along with

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5580-400: The media. An example was in March 1991, when Serbia's Public Prosecutor ordered a 36-hour blackout of two independent media stations, B92 Radio and Studio B television to prevent the broadcast of a demonstration against the Serbian government taking place in Belgrade. The two media stations appealed to the Public Prosecutor against the ban but the Public Prosecutor failed to respond. Upon

5670-451: The membership left the party in 1990, with only minority remaining active in politics. Of those, majority joined the HDZ . With increasingly apparent prospect of SKH being forced to allow some form of multi-party democracy and having its power tested on free elections, the party changed policy and quickly adopted a new reformist platform and pushed for the constitutional amendments allowing first free elections in 1990 . In January 1990

5760-447: The only truly effective resistance movement in Croatia – the Partisans . KPH was based on ideological rather than ethnic grounds and, therefore, had support in both ethnic Croat and ethnic Serb areas. This allowed Josip Broz Tito 's Partisans to mount ultimately successful guerrilla campaign. KPH platform of post-war reorganisation of Yugoslavia on federal grounds also attracted many non-Communist Croatians to its cause, especially in

5850-422: The other Yugoslav nations. To these groups, Milošević's agenda reminded them of the Serb hegemonic political affairs of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia and Ranković's policies. Milošević appealed to nationalist and populist passion by speaking of Serbia's importance to the world and in a Belgrade speech on 19 November 1988, he spoke of Serbia as facing battles against both internal and external enemies. In Vojvodina ,

5940-426: The ousting of the respective provincial and republican governments; the new governments were then supportive of, and indebted to, Slobodan Milošević." Milošević's supporters say the anti-bureaucratic revolution was an authentic grass-roots political movement. Reacting to the indictment, Dr. Branko Kostić , Montenegro's then-representative on the Presidency of Yugoslavia said, "Well, it sounds like nonsense to me. If

6030-424: The party, was expelled from the party during the 8th Session of the League of Communists of Serbia after he publicly criticized the party's Kosovo policy. The central committee voted overwhelmingly for his dismissal: 106 members voted for his expulsion, eight voted against, and 18 abstained. Stambolić was fired after Communist officials in Belgrade accused him of abusing his office during the Pavlović affair. Stambolić

6120-462: The popularity of Ranković's agenda. This connection to the legacy of Ranković was recognized by a number of Yugoslavs who regarded Milošević's policies upon his rise to power in Serbia as effectively "bringing Ranković back in". During the Anti-bureaucratic revolution , Milošević urged Serbians and Montenegrins to "take to the streets" and utilized the slogan "Strong Serbia, Strong Yugoslavia" that drew support from Serbs and Montenegrins but alienated

6210-452: The provincial government which was dominated by Kosovo's majority ethnic group, ethnic Albanians . Milošević claimed that ethnic Albanian authorities had abused their powers, that the autonomy of Kosovo was allowing the entrenchment of separatism in Kosovo, and that the rights of the Serbs in the province were being regularly violated. As a solution, he called for political change to reduce the autonomy, protect minority Serb rights, and initiate

6300-437: The remaining Serbian voters in Kosovo. The boycott soon included education on Albanian language in Kosovo which Milošević attempted to resolve by signing the Milošević-Rugova education agreement in 1996. The anti-bureaucratic revolutions in Montenegro and Vojvodina coupled with Kosovo effectively meant that Slobodan Milošević and his supporters held power in four out of the eight republics and autonomous provinces that made-up

6390-439: The same time, Serbs and Montenegrins dominated the government, security forces, and industrial employment in Kosovo. The popularity of Ranković's nationalistic policies in Serbia became apparent during his funeral in Serbia in 1983 where large numbers of people attended while considering Ranković a Serbian "national" leader. This event is believed to have possibly influenced Milošević, who attended Ranković's funeral, to recognize

6480-597: The same year. This new party should not be mistaken with KPH/SKH, because, unlike Social Democratic Party of Croatia , it is not its formal successor. Pavle Gregori%C4%87 Pavle Gregorić (18 October 1892 – 23 March 1989) was a Croatian communist revolutionary and politician who served as the Minister for Croatia in the government of the Democratic Federative Republic of Yugoslavia from 7 March 1945 to 14 April 1945. This article about

6570-487: The state into a multi-party system , reducing the power of autonomous provinces. He led the Socialist Party of Serbia from its foundation in 1990 until his death . Following the 1990 general elections , Milošević enacted dominant-party rule while his party retained control over economic resources of the state. During his presidency, anti-government and anti-war protests took place, and hundreds of thousands deserted

6660-429: The town of Bačka Palanka , 40 kilometres west of Novi Sad. They were supportive of Milošević and opposed the provincial government's moves to block forthcoming amendments to the Serbian constitution . The New York Times reported that the demonstrations were held "with the support of Slobodan Milošević" and that "Diplomats and Yugoslavs speculated about whether Mr. Milošević, whose hold over crowds [was] great, had had

6750-541: The trial could conclude. The Tribunal denied responsibility for his death stating he had refused to take prescribed medicines for his cardiac ailments and medicated himself instead. After his death, the ICTY and International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals found he was a part of a joint criminal enterprise that used violence such as ethnic cleansing to remove Croats, Bosniaks and Albanians from parts of Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Kosovo. The International Court of Justice (ICJ) concluded separately there

6840-437: The two republics and 329 Serbian businesses broke ties with Slovenia. With these events in 1989, nationalism soared in response along with acts of intolerance, discrimination, and ethnic violence increasing. In that year, officials from Bosnia and Herzegovina noted rising tensions between Bosniaks, Croats, and Serbs; active rumors spread of incidents between Croats and Serbs and arguments by Croats and Serbs that Bosniaks were not

6930-490: The wake of the unrest following the 1989 constitutional amendments, ethnic Albanians in Kosovo largely boycotted the provincial government and refused to vote in the elections. Azem Vllasi , leader of the League of Communists of Kosovo , was arrested for inciting rioting amid the 1989 strike by Kosovo-Albanian miners . In the wake of the Albanian boycott, supporters of Slobodan Milošević were elected to positions of authority by

7020-581: Was "No one should dare to beat you again!" The Federal Secretariat of the SFRY Interior Ministry , however, condemned the police's use of rubber truncheons as not in keeping within the provisions of Articles 100 and 101 of the rules of procedure for "conducting the work of law enforcement", they had found that "the total conduct of the citizenry in the mass rally before the cultural hall in Kosovo Polje cannot be assessed as negative or extremist. There

7110-649: Was accused of being dominated by the Serb minority. The Serb influence was indeed disproportionate at times. In 1989, 30% of the members of the Croatian League of Communists were Serbs, while their overall percentage in the republic was less than 13%. Serbs held the presidency of the party twice, one up to 1942 with Rade Končar , the other from 1986 until 1989 by Stanko Stojčević. Government of April 14, 1945 Government of October 22, 1949 Executive Committee of February 7, 1953 Executive Committee Spring 1958 Executive Committee of 1963 On 29 November 2004 –

7200-551: Was accused of sending a secret letter to the party Presidium, in what was seen as an attempt to misuse the weight of his position as Serbian president, to prevent the central committee's vote on Pavlović's expulsion from the party. In 2002, Adam LeBor and Louis Sell would write that Pavlović was really dismissed because he opposed Milošević's policies towards Kosovo-Serbs. They contend that, contrary to advice from Stambolić, Milošević had denounced Pavlović as being soft on Albanian radicals. LeBor and Sell assert that Milošević prepared

7290-552: Was an officer in the Montenegrin Army . Milošević's mother Stanislava ( née  Koljenšić ), a school teacher and also an active member of the Communist Party , committed suicide in 1972. Her brother (Milošević's maternal uncle) Milisav Koljenšić was a major-general in the Yugoslav People's Army who committed suicide in 1963. Milošević went on to study law at the University of Belgrade 's Law School , where he became

7380-413: Was in the increased marginalisation of Communists in Croatian political life due to public more preoccupied with ethnic issues and position of Croatia within Yugoslavia (cf. Croatia in the first Yugoslavia ). Territorial aspirations of Fascist Italy towards Croatian parts of Yugoslavia also presented opportunity for the creation of broad Communist-dominated alliances modelled on Popular Front . Prior to

7470-555: Was known to promote Serbian national interests in Yugoslavia and tougher police actions against ethnic Albanians in Kosovo. He supported a centralized Yugoslavia and opposed efforts that promoted decentralization that he deemed to be against the interests of Serb unity. Ranković imposed harsh repressive measures on Kosovo Albanians based on accusations that they there were sympathizers of the Stalinist rule of Enver Hoxha in Albania. In 1956,

7560-538: Was multiple charges against a variety of people opposed to the policies of the Serbian and Yugoslav governments even including a Serbian cartoonist who designed political satire. The Hague indictment alleges that, starting in 1987, Milošević "endorsed a Serbian nationalist agenda" and "exploited a growing wave of Serbian nationalism in order to strengthen centralised rule in the SFRY ". ICTY prosecutors argued that "the (Croatia, Bosnia, and Kosovo) indictments were all part of

7650-714: Was no evidence linking him to genocide committed by Bosnian Serb forces during the Bosnian War, but found Milošević had violated the Genocide Convention by failing to prevent genocide from occurring and holding those involved accountable. Observers have described Milošević's political behavior as populist , eclectic , and opportunist . Milošević's rule has been described as authoritarian or autocratic , as well as kleptocratic , with accusations of electoral fraud , assassinations, suppression of press freedom , and police brutality . Milošević had ancestral roots from

7740-404: Was no nationalism in those speeches. We were explaining why we think it is good to preserve Yugoslavia for all Serbs , all Croats , all Muslims and all Slovenians as our joint country. Nothing else." Nevertheless, Milošević was described as a left-wing nationalist. As animosity between Serbs and Albanians in Kosovo deepened during the 1980s, Milošević was sent to address a crowd of Serbs at

7830-473: Was no significant violation of law and order." Although Milošević was only addressing a small group of people around him – not the public, a great deal of significance has been attached to that remark. Stambolić, after his reign as president, said that he had seen that day as "the end of Yugoslavia". Dragiša Pavlović , a Stambolić ally and Milošević's successor at the head of the Belgrade Committee of

7920-445: Was quick to point out, "the fact that we don't have orders doesn't mean that they don't exist" to which Milošević replied "There are none, that's why you haven't got one." Milošević's political behavior has been analyzed as politically opportunist in nature. Claims that Milošević was principally motivated by a desire for power have been supported by many people who had known or had worked for him. Some believe his original goal until

8010-464: Was slow to react when League of Communists of Serbia under Slobodan Milošević aimed to reassert internal Serbian interest. SKH began to openly condemn Milošević only in 1989 after Serbian nationalist demonstrations in areas that would later become Republic of Serbian Krajina . It is estimated that in the 1980s, during its zenith, the SKH had around 300-400,000 members. Subsequent surveys showed that most of

8100-533: Was submitted to the governments of Kosovo, Vojvodina and Serbia for approval. On 10 March 1989, the Vojvodina Assembly approved the amendments, followed by the Kosovo Assembly on 23 March, and the Serbian Assembly on 28 March. In the Kosovo Assembly 187 of the 190 assembly members were present when the vote was taken: 10 voted against the amendments, two abstained, and the remaining 175 voted in favor of

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