Obznana
The decree came after the Communist Party's relatively strong showing in the 1920 Constitutional Assembly election, after which the regime viewed them as the main threat to the system of government.
A series of political murders followed, of both communists and regime officials alike, including Drašković's assassination in July 1921.
After the formation of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (December 1918), the new state was nominally ruled by the democratic institutions, with the Temporary National Parliament as a legislature.
In realty, the executive (Council of ministers), dominated by the People's Radical Party, ruled by decree with little input from the Parliament.
[5] The Unification congress of the Socialist Labor Party of Yugoslavia (Communists) was held in Belgrade on 20–23 April 1919 as consolidation on the left of the political spectrum.
[6] Clashes continued within the party between leftists and centrists – the latter favoring pursuit of reforms through a parliamentary system.
[13] In light of difficult economic and social circumstances, the regime viewed the CPY as the main threat to the system of government.
[15] On 24 April 1920, during the railroad workers' strike, police opened fire on strikers in Ljubljana, killing 13 people.
[17] The regime saw the CPY as a branch office of Bolsheviks who destroyed the Russian Empire, the historical ally of the Serbs.
[18] On 24 December, the Council of ministers proclaimed a decree that called for militarization of any district where miner strike occurs.
[21] In solidarity wit the Bosnian miners, the communist-led Central Trade Union Council of Yugoslavia called for a general strike of all workers to be held on 30 December.
[26] After this introduction, the decree orders:[26] Famed jurist Slobodan Jovanović criticized Obznana because of its antidemocratic character.
He pointed out that it was actually a quasi-decree because it was not adopted by the Parliament, was not signed by the King, and especially because it was not promulgated in the official government gazette, as was obligatory for any decree to take effect.
Ljubomir Stojanović and Mihailo Ilić, leaders of the Republican Party, called Obznana a "coup d'état that places citizen outside of the law".
[3] In the Constituent Assembly (Parliament), Communist deputies argued that their party never abandoned legal forms of action and that accusations against them about anti-state activities are false.
[30] Just in Belgrade, more than a thousand people were arrested, many of whom were then sentenced to prison and internally exiled to the place of birth.
[30] On 29 June 1921, bricklayer Spasoje Stejić [sr] attempted to assassinate regent Alexander in Belgrade using a bomb, but failed.
[31] On 21 July 1921 in Delnice, carpenter Alija Alijagić assassinated then already former Interior Minister Drašković, the main author of the Obznana.
