The popular revolt that challenged Milošević

The recent history of Serbia dates back to the end of the 2nd World War, when Yugoslavia was refounded in 1945 as a socialist federation made up of six republics (Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Montenegro, Macedonia and Slovenia, aside from Serbia), and two autonomous regions (Vojvodina and Kosovo). The Federation's communist President Josip Broz “Tito”, kept the different ethnic groups united for decades, but on his death, independent outbreaks led to the disintegration of Yugoslavia in the 1990s.

During this period of warfare, Serbia's president Slobodan Milošević, known as the "Butcher of the Balkans", tried to impose Serbian supremacy in any territory where there was a Serbian population. His ultra-nationalistic frenzy left 200,000 people dead, between 2 and 3 million displaced, as well as countless rapes, tortures and disappearances.

In 1996, within the context of the fragile peace process after the Dayton Accords, municipal elections were held in Serbia, Montenegro, Kosovo and Vojvodina. Milošević's party, the SPC, lost the elections in the biggest cities, including Belgrade. Milošević cancelled the elections, and for months, hundreds of street demonstrations denounced the electoral fraud and the corruption of the governing elites. Although the protests were subject to a harsh crackdown by the security forces, Milošević found himself forced to acknowledge his defeat, and both Belgrade and other cities fell under the administration of the opposition Zajedno coalition.

It was the beginning of the end for Milošević. In June 2001 he was arrested and brought to the Hague to be tried for crimes against humanity.

Photo: © KinoElektron - Easy Riders Films

Film:Lost Country