Soon, it will be two months in Serbia since the start of student blockades and mass protests, and nearly every day, other citizens join the students on the streets in solidarity. Support is coming from all sides – parents, anti-regime media, educators, the academic community, and even lawyers in Serbia.
In contrast, the authorities are attempting to respond to the student rebellion in various ways, sending thugs against them and calling for an end to the blockades with the claim that all demands have been met.
One of the latest decisions by the authorities is to hold the first rally of the movement announced earlier by Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic last Friday in Jagodina. Many are calling it a counter-rally.
As stated in Istinomer’s post on X regarding this pro-regime rally, “Counter-rallies by the authorities as a reaction to student protests –sound familiar?”
Indeed, during the 1990s, headlines similar to today’s could be found on the front pages of print media. One rally in support of Slobodan Milosevic, for instance, carried the title “For Peace, For Serbia.”
Additionally, headlines at that time included messages like “No one will be able to divide us” and claims that “those opposing Milosevic‘s regime are not real Belgraders.”
According to Serbian media, during the 1990s, such counter-rallies were yet another propaganda “recipe” for dealing with student protests.
Considering that Vucic‘s counter-rally in Jagodina was scheduled for Friday, it is worth noting that the same day saw the “Stop, Serbia” event, which paid tribute to the victims in Novi Sad, as well as a large pro-regime rally.
Something similar, already seen
This is something we’ve seen before, at least something similar. Back in 1996, Milosevic bused his supporters into Belgrade, leading to open clashes with students and opposition representatives who protested daily against election fraud.
In the early morning hours, buses and trains carrying Slobodan Milosevic’s supporters arrived in the capital from the provinces. Zoran Djindjic, the president of the Democratic Party (DS), called on opposition supporters not to fall for provocations and to allow Milosevic’s supporters to hold their counter-rally.
Commenting that people would be brought to the rally “like to a concentration camp,” Djindjic stated: “They are not to blame; they are like us, the future of Serbia. Welcome them as fellow citizens and brothers.”
However, it was impossible to avoid tensions. Sporadic clashes between protesters and “counter-rally participants” began near the Railway Station and soon spread throughout the city center.
Although it was speculated a few days before the scheduled rally that Milosevic’s supporters would gather at Usce, the regime decided to hold the event at Terazije, right next to the location where protesters had been demonstrating for over a month.
From the early morning hours, a stage with the slogan “Serbia will not be ruled by foreign hands” began to be set up at Terazije. While the streets weren’t overly congested, tension could be felt everywhere. The first “support teams” arrived in central Belgrade in the morning, carrying posters of Slobodan Milosevic, Serbian flags, and banners such as “Thanks for Dayton,” “We are Slobo’s – Slobo is ours,” “Slobo, we love you,” and “Slobo, Obilic and Saint Lazar are with you.”
Gunfire in Knez
Around noon, gunfire erupted in Knez Mihailova Street. During clashes between two groups, Ivica Lazovic, a member of the Serbian Renewal Movement, was shot in the head with a firearm. A group of about forty socialists was walking through Knez Mihailova toward Terazije, while passersby booed and provoked them.
“A man from the SPS column suddenly pulled out a Zastava M57gun and shot the man in the head,” witnesses recounted. Ivica Lazovic was left disabled after this shooting.
As time passed, clashes at Terazije between Belgraders and Milosevic supporters became more frequent. Citizens threw eggs, cans, and yogurt at socialist sympathizers. Without any police presence, the security of the “Together” coalition worked to prevent larger incidents.
At one point, during mass brawls, Zoran Djindjic called on coalition supporters to withdraw to Republic Square.
Both gatherings were scheduled for 3 p.m., one at Terazije and the other at Republic Square. Police eventually created a cordon at Terazije to separate the two groups.
To avoid encounters with counter-rally participants, the leaders of the “Together” coalition led their supporters from Republic Square on a walk through the streets of Dorcol to the Danube quay. According to media estimates at the time, more than 100.000 citizens attended the “Together” coalition rally. Earlier, students marched along an altered route through the then Boulevard of Revolution, past the Law Faculty.
“I love you too”
Slobodan Milosevic appeared on the stage near the Terazije fountain in the late afternoon. At the rally, broadcast by state television and radio, he declared that he would not allow global powers and the fifth column in the country to weaken and destabilize Serbia. When the crowd shouted, “Slobo, we love you,” he responded briefly, somewhat reluctantly, with a phrase that students and opposition demonstrators mocked for days: “I love you too.”
When the counter-rally ended and SPS supporters left the area around the Terazije fountain around 5 p.m., police used tear gas against protesters in the city center. This happened when opposition supporters from Republic Square tried to make their way to Terazije via Kolarceva Street. The scuffle was brief, but the situation at Republic Square soon calmed down.
The tragic toll of the counter-rally, which initially included one severely injured person and dozens of others hurt, was later compounded by a fatality. Predrag Starcevic succumbed to injuries sustained in a fight with SPS supporters on the Gazela Bridge after the rally at Terazije ended.
A few days later, thousands of citizens gathered at the New Cemetery to bid farewell to the slain Predrag Starcevic. “You were killed by those who don’t want the beautiful Serbia you dreamed of,” Vuk Draskovic said at the time, Klix.ba writes.
