Slobodan Milosevic (Wikimedia/Stevan Kragujevic)
While Oct. 5 marks 20 years since the mass demonstrations in Belgrade that were instrumental in the 2000 toppling of Slobodan Milosevic, the anniversary of democratic change in Serbia will be marked much more modestly this time than on earlier "round" numbers, with just a few journalist panels.
According to announcements, the 20th anniversary will be marked solely in Nis, with a panel discussion which will be organized by the reporters and editors of local and national media outlets.
After then-president of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Slobodan Milosevic refused to acknowledge the results of a presidential vote on Sept. 24, 2000, which he lost to Vojislav Kostunica, at the time the leader of the Democratic Party of Serbia and candidate of the Democratic Opposition of Serbia, Belgraders took to the streets in a massive protest.
Twenty years later, DOS is long gone, Kostunica has retired from politics, and players in the Milosevic regime again hold the most senior offices in the country.
Aleksandar Vucic, at the time minister of information, is the sitting president, Maja Gojkovic, then deputy prime minister of the federal government was until recently speaker of the parliament, Aleksandar Vulin, erstwhile prominent member of the Yugoslav Left, the party of Milosevic's wife Mira Markovic, is now minister of defense, while Ivica Dacic, then-spokesperson of Milosevic's own Socialist Party of Serbia, is now foreign minister.
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