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Serbia 2023 - Color Revolution - Ramonda Revolution

Amidst a backdrop of geopolitical tensions in December 2023, speculative narratives emerged suggesting that Western powers are purportedly orchestrating efforts to destabilize Serbia through what is colloquially referred to as a “color revolution.” These claims allege that external actors are seeking to influence political change in the Balkan nation. Responding to the turmoil in Belgrade, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova claimed it was an “obvious attempt by the collective West to destabilize the situation in the country through ‘maidan coups’,” according to RIA Novosti.

The first color revolution was Otpor! ("Resistance!") in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in 1998. The organization was founded at Belgrade University in October 1998 and began protesting against Yugoslav president Slobodan Miloševic during the Kosovo War. The anti-Milosevic movement began with claims that the leader had engaged in fraud in the 1998 election. After NATO bombing, the organization launched a political campaign against Miloševic. The campaign resulted in nationwide police repression against Otpor activists, with nearly 2,000 arrested and some beaten.

Thousands of protesters flooded the streets of Belgrade 24 December 2023, demanding the annulment of recent elections. Senior national officials have described the protests as an attempted “color revolution,” and said they had been forewarned by Russia. President Vucic denounced the riot, calling it an attempted “color revolution” and claiming that a foreign nation had warned his government about the threat beforehand.

Vucic claimed that the protest was sponsored by Western powers who wanted him removed from office over his cordial relations with Russia and refusal to abandon Serbia’s claim to Kosovo, citing reports from foreign intelligence services. He reiterated these allegations in Sunday’s address, thanking unnamed “foreign services” for letting his security services “know exactly what the thugs were preparing.” Vucic said during the initial ‘anti-violence’ protests earlier this year “Serbia is fed up with your revolutions... Serbia is fed up with the arrival of those under foreign influence and the destruction of everything that is Serbian.”

Prime Minister Ana Brnabic thanked the Russian special services for providing intelligence to Belgrade. “I feel that it is important, especially tonight, to stand up for Serbia and to thank the Russian security services who had that information and who shared it with us,” Brnabic told TV Pink. “I can only say thank you, and it probably won’t be popular with those from the West,” the prime minister said, adding, “When we shared that information with everyone else, they said: ‘Well, that’s Russian disinformation, that’s spreading fake news.’”

Opposition forces in Serbia breached Belgrade’s city hall amid mass protests. The demonstration, marked by peaceful but passionate expressions of dissent, reflects a growing sentiment of dissatisfaction with the electoral process and its perceived shortcomings. They claim the recent municipal election in the capital, won by the ruling party, was rigged. Belgrade is home to roughly a quarter of the Balkan nation’s population of over 6.6 million. The office of its mayor is viewed as one of the most important in Serbia. Members of the city council, who vote the mayor in, were elected on December 17 – the same day as a national election and several municipal votes were held.

The populist ruling Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) won 46.72% of the votes in snap parliamentary elections last weekend, according to state election commission preliminary results. The protesters, comprising a diverse cross-section of the population, have converged on key locations in the city, carrying banners and chanting slogans calling for electoral transparency and fairness. The atmosphere is charged with a sense of urgency as demonstrators voice their concerns about the legitimacy of the recent electoral outcome.

Organized by a coalition of civil society groups, activists, and concerned citizens, the protest aimed to draw attention to alleged irregularities in the electoral process. Critics claim that issues such as voter suppression, irregular ballot counting, and concerns about the independence of electoral institutions have undermined the credibility of the results.

Local authorities have so far allowed the peaceful assembly to proceed, with law enforcement maintaining a presence to ensure public safety. The protesters, undeterred by the cold weather, continue to express their discontent, emphasizing the need for democratic processes that uphold the principles of fairness and transparency.

Social media platforms are abuzz with images and videos from the demonstration, amplifying the protesters’ message and drawing attention from both domestic and international audiences. Calls for dialogue between the government and the demonstrators have also emerged, with many hoping for a peaceful resolution to address the concerns raised by the protesters.

Russia directly accused Western-funded NGOs and other regime change tactics to disrupt the newly elected government. After Russia exposed the Western hand Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabic expressed gratitude to the Russian security services, which alerted Belgrade to plans for riots in the capital.

Following the unrest in Belgrade, Vucic was expected to host Russian Ambassador Aleksandr Botsan-Kharchenko at his residence just across the square from the assembly where the protest took place, local media reported, citing the presidential press service. Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic has also scheduled a meeting with the Russian envoy.

The term “color revolution” has been historically used to describe popular uprisings or movements advocating for political change, often associated with specific colors representing the movements, such as the Orange Revolution in Ukraine or the Rose Revolution in Georgia. Proponents of the narrative suggest that Western nations, particularly the European Union and the United States, are covertly supporting opposition groups within Serbia to foment dissent and challenge the current government. The motivations attributed to these efforts vary, with some asserting that Western powers seek to reshape the political landscape in line with their interests.

The term ‘color revolution’ is often applied to the mass uprisings by ostensibly pro-democratic political forces in the 1990s and 2000s, including in Yugoslavia in 2000. Russia and some other nations perceive the wave as masterminded by the West to further its geopolitical goals, and executed through NGOs, media outlets, and parties funded by the US and its allies.

The Vucic government has been presented with a dilemma amid the current confrontation between Russia and the West. It is seeking EU membership for Serbia, which would require the realignment of Belgrade’s foreign policy with that of Brussels. However, Vucic has rejected Western calls to cut ties with Russia and join the US-led sanctions campaign against Moscow.

TASS reported 22 December 2023 that Serbia, where the opposition has begun acting according to the classic "color revolution" playbook in the wake of the Balkan country’s recent elections, should consider what a bitter fate Ukraine has reaped from its recklessly blind fealty to pro-Western forces, Ukrainian politician Viktor Medvedchuk, former head of the now-banned Opposition Platform-For Life party, said.

Medvedchuk, who now leads the Other Ukraine movement, said: "The Serbs should take a look at contemporary Ukraine, which in pursuit of the European dream has become impoverished, and has lost half of its population, [significant] territory and, ultimately, its statehood." He stressed that the popular unrest that Serbia’s pro-Western forces were seeking to ignite is being done according to a standard scenario.

"Present-day events in Serbia are following the classic color revolution script, where Nazis cloak themselves in the garb of committed democrats and political criminals proclaim that they are seeking to establish order," he said. The veteran Ukrainian politician noted that the West, which constantly repeats a mantra about democratic values, is in fact not particularly interested in the rights of the Serbian opposition per se, or in its political program in general, but is rather interested only in that segment of the opposition that gets its marching orders directly from the US embassy and will do Washington’s bidding should it come to power; all other points of view are simply ignored.

"It remains an open question as to why [a country should consider] joining the European Union, if [Brussels] will then be picking who gets to govern that country without bothering to take the local population’s opinion into account," Medvedchuk elaborated. "The European Union is strictly following in the footsteps of NATO, which bombed Yugoslavia without any [legitimate] reasons whatsoever and then proceeded to ‘dismember’ it," he noted. "It is clear that the EU is moving toward the further dismemberment of Serbia and the elimination of the Serbs as a nation."

The politician added that, "the Serbian people can always rely on the support of the Russian people." Medvedchuk stated "As history has shown, the Serbs will never stand alone and will find the support they need".

Nik Stankovic's sarcastic report was that the "name for the color revolution in Serbia it is called "Jumper Revolution" (British English for some reason). I guess all the colors got used up?" The national colors of Serbia are red, blue, and white. The flag of Serbia, also known as the trobojka (the tricolour), has three horizontal bands of equal size. Serbia has multiple national flowers. The Serbian tricolour pansy, also known as the "trobojka" or "tricolour", is a variety of pansy that has colors that match the Serbian flag: blue, white, and red. Natalie's ramonda, is a flower of remembrance for ancestors who died in liberation and unification wars. The Serbian ramonda is a flower that symbolizes the Serbian Army's struggle during World War I and the resurrection of the Serbian state after the war. Ramonda is a flower with great symbolism for the Serbian people. This flower carries the power of Serbian history and the suffering of the Serbian people during the First World War. Serbia has no official national flower, but many Serbs consider the 'božur' or peony as such. “The Lily of the Valley” is also seen as a national symbol and the national flower, while “the Oak” is the national tree.