The 8th Session of the League of Communist of Serbia ( League of Communists of Yugoslavia 's Serbian branch ) took place against the backdrop of rising ethnic tensions between the Albanian and Serb communities in the Serbian province of Kosovo . General anti-Albanian feeling throughout Serbia was also high following the deadly crime in the dormitory of the Yugoslav People 's Army ( JNA ) barracks in Paraćin on 3 September 1987 . Known as the Paraćin massacre , it was committed by the 19-year-old ethnic Albanian recruit Aziz Kelmendi who randomly opened fire on his fellow soldiers , killing four of them and wounding further five . Ivan Stambolić was then the President of Serbia . His support a year earlier had helped Milošević become the chief of Serbian Communist Party , but he was becoming more and more opposed to Milošević . This was due to the latter 's policy about dealing with Albanian unrest in Kosovo , which demanded rapid action instead of reaching a consensus through slow and patient negotiations with the Albanian leaders &ndash; a plan supported by Stambolić and his ally Dragiša Pavlović , leader of the Belgrade Communist Party . Stambolić was also unimpressed by Milošević 's handling of a crowd in Kosovo , when he used the phrase " no one shall beat you again " that has since then become famous and also displayed open support for the Kosovo Serbs , against the party policy . This situation was worsened by Milošević 's grudge against Pavlović , who highly disapproved of the Milošević camp and who had been appointed as the leader of the Belgrade Communist Party by Stambolić against the wishes of Milošević . Together , these factors ensured that the stage was set for a showdown between the two
Paraćin massacre
Paraćin massacre
8th Plenary Session of the Central Committee of the League of Communists of Serbia