1996–1997 Serbian protests
In the winter of 1996–1997, university students and Serbian opposition parties organized a series of peaceful protests in the Republic of Serbia (then part of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia) in response to electoral fraud attempted by the Socialist Party of Serbia of President Slobodan Milošević after the 1996 local elections.
| 1996–1997 protests in Serbia | |||
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| Part of 1996 Serbian local elections | |||
Students marching in Belgrade in November 1996, carrying the "Belgrade is the world" banner | |||
| Date | November 17, 1996 – March 22, 1997 | ||
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Vuk Drašković Slobodan Milošević | |||
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During the course of the rallies, students held their protests separately from the citizens' ones, led by opposition then gathered in coalition Zajedno (Together). The students' protest lasted until 22 March 1997, with additional requests of replacing the management of University of Belgrade and return of the university autonomy.
The protests started November 17, 1996 in Niš where thousands of opposition supporters gathered to protest against election fraud. Belgrade University students joined on November 19, 1996 and protests lasted even after February 11, 1997, when Milošević signed the "lex specialis", which accepted the opposition victory and instated local government in several cities, but without acknowledging any wrongdoing. The protests were strongest in the capital Belgrade, where they gathered up to 200,000 people, but spread over most cities and towns in Serbia.