Bringing Down A Dictator is a recent documentary film telling the story of Otpor, the non-violent youth movement which organised the resistance against Serbian dictator Slobodan Milosevic. Corruption was a major factor in generating popular discontent in Serbia and the documentary highlights how Otpor used the issue of corruption to delegitimise Milosevic’s regime. To find out more about how youth movements have employed corruption as a rallying point to generate mass engagement in non-violent movements Transparency Watch talked to Srdja Popovic, one of the founders of Otpor, and Giorgi Meladze, a founding member of Kmara, the student organisation behind the Rose Revolution in Georgia.

While Slobodan Milosevic will be remembered for his administration’s human rights abuses his repertoire of atrocities extended into other realms as well[1]. Before being tried for war crimes at the Hague, Milosevic was arrested by the Serbian authorities on charges of corruption and abuse of power[2]. According to Mr Popovic, the popular belief that there was widespread state-sponsored corruption “was an important factor in delegitimising Milosevic’s regime” and a unifying force behind the anti-Milosevic movement.

Mr Popovic explains that “one of the reasons behind Otpor’s success was its ability to recruit such a broad base of activists, particularly grassroots activists… [This was] because we were able to share a vision of tomorrow which attracted a wide audience”.

Bringin Down a Dictator shows how the use of creative tactics involved the people at an emotional level too. On Milosevic’s birthday, Otpor baked a cake and cut it into many slices to represent the divisions within Serbia. In January 2000, Otpor organised a rock concert to celebrate the new Millennium. The party ended abruptly when photographs of the victims of Milosevic’s regime were projected onto giant screens around the arena. Otpor’s message was clear: Go home and think about how we can create change. Let’s celebrate when we have a reason to do so.

Corruption also was a unifying factor in the non-violent resistance against the repressive regime of Eduard Shevardnadze in Georgia. Shevardnadze’s Georgia was perceived to be crippled by corruption and bribery. Some politicians accumulated astounding amounts of wealth by setting up informal institutions, or “clans”, whilst a deficit plagued the budget and poverty spread throughout the country[3].

Giorgi Meladze was one of the founding members of Kmara, the student organisation behind Shevardnadze’s overthrow in 2003. He says that of the many problems afflicting Georgia in the early 2000s, “corruption was number one.” In Meladze’s view, “corruption deteriorated the regime and made it illegitimate. It was impossible to deliver any services and there was no written law…If it were not for Kmara, the Rose Revolution would not have happened in 2003 or at any other time”.

Despite the successes of the peaceful revolutions in Serbia and Georgia, Otpor and Kmara did not survive the fall of the regime. The movements had been united by a common cause: bringing down a dictator. And once the common enemy had disappeared from the scene, there was little else to keep them together.

Otpor promised to continue corruption-monitoring after Milosevic’s overthrow, but it proved to be unable to transform itself into a popular watchdog. Srdja Popovic was elected Member of Parliament with the Democratic Opposition of Serbia and acted as special environmental advisor in the Zoran Dindic administration. In Kmara’s case, Meladze reflects that “(the movement) simply didn’t have anything further to do. People started doing the things they wanted to do: some went into civil society, some into government, others into academia and others went back to university.” Mr Meladze currently works for the Liberty Institute, the civil rights organisation supporting Kmara during the Rose Revolution.

Kmara and Otpor bused corruption to bring down their dictator. However, this did not lead to the complete eradication of corruption. Popovic explains that there has been a dramatic change in the Serbian political climate, as people have become increasingly aware of corruption; but corruption continues to dominate headlines. Meladze, on the other hand, points out that in Georgia, “corruption doesn’t exist as a political concept anymore”, but the misappropriation of funds particularly in public services and bribery among officials still remains a problem.

Transparency International (TI) Serbia and Transparency International Georgia have been continuing Kmara’s and Otpor’s work on the corruption front. TI Georgia is active in election monitoring, promoting accountability and access to information in government and in scrutinising the use of government resources. Otpor’s work paved the way to open more space for civil society organisations in Serbia. TI Serbia is currently active in raising public awareness activities, organising public campaigns and proposing legislative solutions to corruption-related issues.

The Serbian experience has become a source of inspiration for young people to take action against oppressive regimes across the globe. Thanks to films such as Bringing Down a Dictator and the soon-to-be released documentaries The Orange Revolution and Confronting the Truth by the International Centre of Nonviolent Conflict, non-violent action is being employed successfully by groups of young people as a response to oppressive regimes. This is also thanks to the work of the Centre for Applied Non-Violent Action and Strategies (CANVAS), where Mr Popovic currently works. CANVAS provides practical tools for non-violent resistance to movements around the globe, using the Serbian success as blueprint for action. On top of Georgia, Otpor has inspired civic youth organisations in Belarus, Albania, Kyrgyzstan and the Ukraine. The peaceful “uprising for independence” following Hariri’s assassination in Lebanon and, although less successful, opposition to Mugabe in Zimbabwe, are examples of how non-violent resistance has moved beyond Europe and influencing movements around the world to campaign for peaceful change.

[1] Milosevic: Accused mastermind of ethnic cleansing, March 30, 2001, CNN Archives
<http://archives.cnn.com/2001/WORLD/europe/03/30/milosevic.profile/>; THE INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL TRIBUNAL FOR THE FORMER YUGOSLAVIA Case No. IT-01-51-I, THE PROSECUTOR OF THE TRIBUNAL AGAINST SLOBODAN MILOSEVIC <http://www.un.org/icty/indictment/english/mil-ii011122e.htm;>

[2]Courts to decide on Milosevic extradition, 2 March 2001, BBC News, <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/1199404.stm>

[3] Georgia as a clans’ National State was discussed by Soeren Theisen in his article Georgien-Klaners nationalstat: Post-electorale noter om State og Politik I Georgien (2000)