BELGRADE: Although widely considered one of the most important dates in the history of modern Serbia having taken place at the very beginning of the 21st century, the anniversary of the 5th of October Revolution is no longer celebrated in Belgrade, only “remembered.” This comes as no surprise considering the disappointment of the people with the period that followed revolutionary euphoria. Serbian Prsident Boris Tadić, one of the opposition leaders who was at the forefront of the revolution, said during his visit to Kraljevo that one of the main accomplishments of the 5th of October revolution was the foundation of the democratic institutions in Serbia, adding that “citizens of Serbia will never again have to overthrow a regime in a mass demonstrations.“ He reminded onlookers that Freedom House declared Serbia a free country, regretting to admit that there are also reasons for people to be disappointed and frustrated. Mlađan Dinkić, former Minister of Finance in the present government and the leader of the influential Party of United Regions of Serbia said that he is “discontent with the progress that has been made after the Revolution because part of capital that entered Serbia throughout this period has been spent instead of invested.” He added that one of the main reasons for “ineffective spending of current assets is centralization of the state” and admitted his own responsibility as a minister in more than one government since 5th of October. Marko Djuric, the representative of the main opposition Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) expressed a different view, dismissing the importance of the 5th of October and arguing that the situation in the country is “even worse” than it used to be in the period prior to 2000. “Serbia is being pulled towards the bottom by the joint forces of those who governed it before 2000 and those who overtook the government after,” said Djuric. He insisted on knowing what happened with more than 75 billion euros of foreign investments that entered the country since the revolution. The 5th of October revolution occurred when the people of Serbia took to the streets in mass demonstrations that in opposition to the repressive government of Slobodan Milošević. After the brief period of euphoria and excitement, the country entered a painful process of transition on its path towards the membership in the EU, which was recently slowed down by both the economic crisis and its insistence to not recognize the independence of Kosovo. It is interesting to note that a similar movement, Egypt's 6th of April Youth Movement, has adopted the logo of the Serbian “Otpor”, one of the youth organizations who spearheaded the struggle against the oppressive regime. BM
