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ROAR OF THOUSANDS APPLAUDING

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This is the man
whose embrace of nationalism

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is blamed for the wars in today's
Yugoslavia - Slobodan Milosevic.

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IN SERBO-CROAT:

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In 1980, Marshal Tito made a final
journey in Communist Yugoslavia,

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<font color="

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For 35 years he held
Yugoslavia's six republics together

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with an iron hand.

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Any hint of nationalism
from Serbs, Croats, Muslims,

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Macedonians or Slovenes was crushed.

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SOMBRE MARTIAL MUSIC

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He called this policy
<font color="

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Seven years later,
Yugoslavia was still united.

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Tito's heirs
kept ethnic hatreds buried.

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In Serbia, Slobodan Milosevic
was the right-hand man

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of the president, Ivan Stambolic.

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Yugoslavia's tragedy began
<font color="

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The story began in Kosovo,

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Serbia's poorest province,
bordering Albania.

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The president sent
his most trusted comrade

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to calm an ethnic conflict
that was brewing up.

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The local Communists,
<font color="

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faced a challenge
from some nationalist Serbs.

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ROAR OF APPROVAL

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By meeting the nationalists,
Milosevic broke a central principle

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of Tito's Yugoslavia - and
in Serbia's most sensitive area.

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ORTHODOX CHANTING

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<font color="

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King Lazar had led the Serb army
into battle,

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to try to halt the advance of Islam.

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Six centuries later,

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Serb television
recreated their heroic defeat.

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By then, most Serbs had left
<font color="

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but extras to play
the invading infidel were plentiful,

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for the majority
of Kosovans were Muslim Albanians.

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The few remaining Serbs
claimed they were being driven

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from their ancient kingdom.

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<font color="
no matter how wild,

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were readily believed in Serbia.

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Milosevic now had a chance
to exploit the Kosovo issue.

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He invited his most trusted
advisers home.

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Down in Kosovo,
the local Communist Party boss

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<font color="
was up to something.

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The Kosovo Party boss trailed along
beside Milosevic,

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uncertain what he was walking into.

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UPROAR

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When the meeting began,

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Serbs claimed Albanians in Kosovo
made life impossible.

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<font color="

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MIMICS LOW, BAYING NOISE

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CROWD ROARS AND CHANTS

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A scuffle started outside between
the Serbs and the Kosovan police.

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Everything was going to plan.

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It was Milosevic's moment
of decision.

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What Milosevic said next
<font color="

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That night, Serb television
created the Milosevic legend.

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Serbia saw him embrace the cause
of the Serbs in Kosovo.

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Serbian viewers were not shown how
the Serbs had provoked the police.

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The Milosevic myth was born
<font color="

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Milosevic stood accused
of breaching party policy.

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The Serb president tried to avoid
an open conflict with his deputy

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so the number three in the party
issued a public rebuke.

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NEWSREADER:

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DUSAN MITEVIC:

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<font color="
his tactical adviser.

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He suggested attack
was the best defence.

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The showdown came a few days later,

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at a meeting of Serbia's
top Communists.

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To oust the president's man,

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Milosevic canvassed
<font color="

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It was clearly a great victory
for Milosevic.

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Milosevic now launched Serbia
on a crusade

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to take control of Yugoslavia.

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ORTHODOX CHANTING

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The bones of King Lazar,

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who died at the Battle of Kosovo,

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<font color="
Serbs to reclaim their former glory.

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MILOSEVIC:

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Serbia had dominated Yugoslavia.

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To cut it down to size,
Tito gave its two provinces -

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Kosovo and Vojvodina -
self-government.

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In federal bodies,
<font color="

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to gang up with the republics of
Croatia and Slovenia against Serbia.

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Milosevic set out
to seize these votes.

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He started here,

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as his "supporters' club"
of Serb nationalists

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were brought in from Kosovo.

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<font color="

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fuelled by a day out
with free food and drink,

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quickly turned local discontent
into a popular revolution

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against the grey bureaucrats
of the old regime.

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It took only a word from Milosevic
to finish the job.

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<font color="

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and the next target was Montenegro,

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always closely allied with Serbia.

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The old president could do nothing.

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One more Milosevic man
was installed.

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By the beginning of 1989, Milosevic
controlled half of Yugoslavia,

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<font color="
in a majority, and they hit back.

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The miners led a general strike.

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They wanted their man back in power.

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To help Milosevic
make good his threat,

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Kosovo Serbs arrived in Belgrade.

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As they mobilised
<font color="

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he asked the Yugoslav state council
for emergency powers in Kosovo.

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The Slovene leader saw what this
could do to the rest of Yugoslavia.

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Milan Kucan walked out
of the meeting

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and went straight home to Slovenia.

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<font color="
he spoke to his people.

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DUSAN MITEVIC:

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The TV chief watched the feed
from Slovenia, and knew what to do.

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He made sure Serbia got the message.

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The broadcast brought the people
of Belgrade onto the streets.

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<font color="

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before the final decision
was taken on Kosovo,

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local Serb workers
were given a day off,

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and marched into town.

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Milosevic's colleagues phoned him
when the throng reached parliament.

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With half of Belgrade baying
<font color="

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Milosevic sent the Yugoslav
president an ultimatum -

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he must give the Serbs
the powers they wanted

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or deal with the crowd themselves.

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Faced with what he regarded
as Serb blackmail,

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<font color="
to explain to the crowd

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the dangers of the road
they were taking.

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The Yugoslav president
failed to satisfy the crowd.

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The party council caved in.

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They gave Milosevic the power
<font color="

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The crowd had waited all day

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for Milosevic to tell them
that Kosovo would be theirs again.

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Now, with emergency powers in place,

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the Kosovo parliament had no choice
but to cede all authority to Serbia.

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<font color="
for counter-revolutionary activity.

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All dissent was crushed.

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It was the tiny republic Slovenia
that turned on the Serb giant.

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Kucan said he'd change
the Slovene constitution

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to keep Belgrade out of his affairs.

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<font color="

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But Kosovo was at the opposite end
of the country to Slovenia.

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Slovenia found an ally,
the Republic of Croatia,

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which wouldn't let agitators
cross its border.

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Kucan's police had no trouble
<font color="

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who turned out to demonstrate.

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Milosevic would have to try
something else to beat the Slovenes.

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THEY SING

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The instrument Milosevic chose
was the Yugoslav Communist Party.

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He called an extraordinary congress.

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<font color="
to brotherhood and unity,

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they all knew that
this congress had been summoned

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to crush the defiant Slovenes.

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Kucan had only one hope -

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Yugoslavia's second-largest
republic, Croatia.

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<font color="

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a leader who owed him his career.

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It was the first congress the
president of Montenegro attended.

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This latest Serb aggression shook
delegates from other republics.

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The Serb block showed no mercy.

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In a break,
<font color="

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Kucan knew if they walked out,

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he could be blamed for the chaos
in Yugoslavia.

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He offered a deal.

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Before the final vote was announced

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I was still at the speaking podium

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when Ribecic requested the floor.

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<font color="

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He simply walked up.

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Ribecic, a Slovene delegate,

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had been primed
to give them the signal.

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He said the Slovenes couldn't accept

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the climate in
the Central Committee.

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At that very moment,

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<font color="
from all over the hall,

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from the presiding head table,

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and started leaving
the plenary session by one door.

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CROWD WHISTLE AND CLAP

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He wanted to diminish the drama,

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and he put it forward as something
<font color="

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Milosevic's response was daring -

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to tell the Party it could survive

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the defection
of the troublesome Slovenes.

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His gamble depended on keeping
all the other delegations in line.