1996–1997 Serbian protests

On 24 December 1996 the government coalition called "Za Srbiju" ("For Serbia") organized a large counter-protest in Terazije. named Predrag Starčević was beaten to death. Lazović eventually met Sandić in court, where he asked him, "brother, why did you shoot me?" Milošević allegedly ordered police to stay disengaged from the counter-protest. He stood by his decision years later, claiming that civil war could have begun if it were not for the intervention of riot police that night. ==Protest on Branko's Bridge==

On the night of 2–3 February 1997 a confrontation occurred between riot police and protesters on Branko's Bridge, during which the police fired water cannons at the protesters, even though the outside temperature was −6 °C (21 °F). Vesna Pešić, leader of the Civic Alliance of Serbia, was hit by the police on the same night. According to Naša Borba, 29 protesters ended up in the Urgent Care emergency room, while the "Anlave" clinic received 50 patients that night. ==Kolarčeva street protest and the Serbian Orthodox Church==

In January 1997, a large column of riot police blocked off Kolarčeva street in Belgrade for several weeks, in spite of the continuation of a standoff with the student protesters. ==Alleged role of the internet==

In early 1997, Wired journalist David Bennahum met philosophy professor Novica Milić at a conference in Berlin called the "Data Conflicts: Cyberspace and the Geo-Politics of Eastern Europe", after which Milić invited him to apply for a visa to visit Yugoslavia during the protests. Bennahum applied, eventually entered Yugoslavia and wrote about his experience and the alleged role of the internet in the protest mobilization in an article called "The Internet Revolution". At the time of the protests, at least 8 million people were living in Yugoslavia, of which no more than 10,000 had access to the internet. Speaking to Nedeljnik, Milan Božić, a math professor who met with Bennahum to discuss internet access in Yugoslavia, claimed that Bennahum endangered him and Milić by publishing their names in his article, adding that there had been an agreement to keep their identities hidden from the authorities. Milić also commented for Nedeljnik, stating that Bennahum "severely exaggerated" the role of the internet in the 1996–1997 protests. ==Reactions==

Richard Holbrooke commented on the issue in his memoirs, recalling that the Americans were not able to support the protests due to the transitional period to the Clinton II Administration: ==See also==