On 9 November 2001, soldiers of the Special Operations Unit (JSO), an elite special forces police unit of the FR Yugoslavia State Security Service (RDB), also known as the Red Berets, raised a mutiny in response to the arrest and extradition of the Banović brothers, indicted for war crimes before the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) and the group's opposition to the Government of Serbia headed by Prime Minister Zoran Đinđić. The mutiny ended on 17 November 2001 after certain concessions had been given to the Unit and the key figures in the State Security Service were dismissed.
The mutiny was the forerunner of major political upheavals in Serbia, one of which was the assassination of Zoran Đinđić in 2003.
Background
Overthrow of Milošević
During the overthrow of Slobodan Milošević in October 2000, the Special Operations Unit (JSO) played a significant role. The Unit's commander Milorad Ulemek made an agreement with opposition leader Zoran Đinđić which resulted in Ulemek refusing to carry out Milošević's order to open fire on the anti-government protesters in Belgrade.
Arrest of Milošević and split within the transitional government
The following year, Milošević was arrested and transferred to the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) in the Hague in late June 2001. This became a wedge issue, leading to a split within the transitional authorities and the formation of an "anti-Hague lobby" centered around Yugoslav President Vojislav Koštunica. As Koštunica distanced himself from the ruling DOS coalition, he created a kind of shadow government grouped around his presidential cabinet. This opened an opportunity for remnants of the Milošević regime to capitalize on the ongoing power struggle between Prime Minister Đinđić and President Koštunica, with the ultimate goal of preserving their interests.
Milorad Ulemek's resignation and criminal activities
During the year following the overthrow of Milošević, Milorad Ulemek increasingly associated with Dušan Spasojević, allegedly a former JSO member, who was a leader of the Zemun Clan. This was first made clear during the arrest of Spasojević and several Zemun Clan members in May 2001 in France, when Ulemek argued for their release in front of Interior Minister Dušan Mihajlović. After hearing of their arrest, Ulemek started a fire in the disco "Tvrđava" (Fortress) in Kula. He started several incidents in Belgrade's cafes, culminating on 15 June in the cafe "Bojan Stupica", during Ceca Ražnatović's birthday party. The Stupica incident, which included Ulemek threatening police officers while armed, led to his resignation from the Ministry of the Interior on 26 June 2001. Still, Ulemek kept his influence in the JSO, now led by Dušan Maričić "Gumar", and remained its de facto commander. After his resignation, Ulemek continued to enjoy certain privileges afforded to former high-ranking State Security operatives, such as armed guards dispatched from the police force.
Ulemek spent the several following months in Greece, where he was arrested in August 2001 for possessing a forged passport. Ulemek was released after State Security Service director Goran Petrović submitted a written request to Greek authorities. This arrest further upset him because he had long suspected that he, too, was wanted by the ICTY, and that he could be charged for the Ibar Highway attack. Increasingly paranoid, Ulemek met with Čedomir Jovanović, a member of Đinđić's inner circle, on 5 October 2001 in the Zemun Clan headquarters in Šilerova street. According to Jovanović, Ulemek relayed these fears to him during their meeting, meanwhile boasting of his alliance with Security Administration chief Aco Tomić.
Another event that made Ulemek feel threatened was ICTY prosecutor Carla Del Ponte's request for information from Interior Minister Mihajlović during her stay in Serbia on 19 October 2001. The information concerned around 200 individuals, including members of the JSO. Ulemek was also scheduled to appear before the court as a witness in the Ibar Highway case on 12 November. He was later himself indicted in the case and was sentenced to 40 years in prison.