Anti-bureaucratic Revolution - Protests - October 1988 - January 1989: Montenegro

January 1989: Montenegro

Rallies and media were also similarly used in Montenegro with the first rally in support of Kosovo Serbs and Kosovo Montenegrins taking place in Titograd on 20 August 1988. The leadership of the Montenegrin Communist League was on the defense at the time, claiming that it was also "protecting Kosovo", but their restraint in direct support for Milošević was deemed not good enough by the putschists.

What eventually proved to be the coup's first act occurred on 7 October 1988 when Montenegrin police intervened against protesters in Žuta Greda demanding resignations from the Montenegrin leadership. In order to deal with the situation the leadership proclaimed the state of emergency. The state of emergency didn't last long though, as it was taken as act of hostility towards Serbia by media outlets controlled by Milošević as well as Milošević's supporters in Montenegro.

The second act started with joint rallies consisting of workers from Radoje Dakić, a state-owned factory, and Veljko Vlahović University students. On 10 January 1989, over 10,000 protesters gathered in Titograd. The old leadership, confused and disorganised, soon gave in; none of them later played a significant political role. The new "young lions" of the Montenegro, Momir Bulatović, Milo Đukanović and Svetozar Marović, became the new leadership, strongly allied with Milošević in the years to come. The League of Communists of Montenegro was subsequently transformed by the "triumvirate" who had full control over the (Socialist) Republic of Montenegro into the Democratic Party of Socialists of Montenegro, which vigorously maintained its grip over Montenegro and does so to this day more than 20 years later.