The Hindu : Serbian PM assassinated

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Mar 13, 2003

Front Page

Front Page

Serbian PM assassinated

By Vaiju Naravane

Zoran Djindjic

PARIS MARCH 12. The Serbian Prime Minister, Zoran Djindjic (50), who was instrumental in the downfall of the former Serbian President, Slobodan Milosevic, was assassinated in Belgrade shortly before 1 p.m. local time today. He was rushed to hospital where doctors performed an emergency surgery to save his life but in vain.

Mr. Djindjic was shot at close range in the chest and back as he was walking into the Serbian Government building in downtown Belgrade.

This was the second attempt on the Serbian leader's life in the past month. A couple of weeks ago, a lorry crashed into his official car in a bid to push it off the road. Mr. Djindjic said at the time that attempts on his life were "part of being a politician in a democracy''.

Two men have been arrested in connection with the murder and airports have been closed and roadblocks erected on all arteries leading from the capital.

Observers say the assassination further underlines the chaos beneath Serbia's outer mantle of democracy.

Mr. Djindjic authorised the arrest and transfer of the former Yugoslav strongman, Slobodan Milosevic, to the International Criminal Tribunal on the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) at The Hague, the Netherlands, a move that earned him the hatred of Serbia's substantial nationalist minority.

There is speculation that the assassination was ordered either by Mr. Djindjic's political enemies of which there are many or by organised crime.

Mr. Djindjic had recently ordered a crackdown on organised crime, saying he was determined to break the links between the mafia and the political establishment, set up during the Milosevic regime.

Police say there have been 45 high-profile murders among Serbia's elites since 1995. Many of these crimes have been blamed on Mr. Milosevic and his associates.

Mr. Djindjic, an articulate politician, shot to prominence during municipal elections in 1990 when he led daily protests against Mr. Milosevic until the latter recognised the Opposition victories in several prominent Serbian cities such a Belgrade and Nis.

M. Djindjic was trying to push Serbia towards secular reform. But many disliked his autocratic style of government and what many described as "rank opportunism''.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Front Page

Stories in this Section

We'll not back regime change in Iraq by outside forces: PM

Serbian PM assassinated

Excavation begins amid tight security

Increase in domestic air fares likely

LTTE pondering options

SIMI leader held

JeM militant killed

3 injured in ULFA attack

Foreigner freed

Iraq shifts its ambassador