Screaming Flower
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Serb Prime Minister Djindjic Assassinated
Serb Prime Minister Djindjic Assassinated
1 hour, 20 minutes ago Add Top Stories - Reuters to My Yahoo!
By Julijana Mojsilovic
BELGRADE (Reuters) - Serbian Prime Minister Zoran Djindjic was assassinated on Wednesday, gunned down outside the main government building in Belgrade, a source from his political party told Reuters.
Djindjic, 50, a reformer who played a central role in the downfall of former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic (news - web sites) in October 2000, was shot in the chest by two large caliber sniper bullets fired from a distance, a police source said.
"He's dead," the source from his Democratic Party said.
Local B92 radio said he was shot in the back and the stomach at around 11:45 a.m. GMT.
Djindjic narrowly escaped injury in another incident last month when a truck suddenly swerved out of its lane toward a convoy of cars -- one of which was carrying the prime minister.
Djindjic then suggested the near-miss could have been linked to his government's attempts to stamp out organized crime which flourished during the turbulent rule of Milosevic in the 1990s.
It was Djindjic who took the decision in mid-2001 to ship Milosevic to the war crimes tribunal in The Hague (news - web sites), where he is facing trial for genocide and crimes against humanity.
B92 said two people had been arrested in connection with the shooting and Beta news agency reported three people detained. there was no immediate official confirmation of the reports.
Serbian government ministers immediately gathered in emergency session, a government source said.
News of Djindjic's death swept across the Serbian capital, shocking many of those who supported the premier and took to the streets with him in mass anti-Milosevic protests.
"Is he really dead? God forbid! Whatever happened to this country. Can we feel safe?" said 65-year-old pensioner Ljiljana.
"This is scary, frightening. Does this mean even I now have to watch my back?," Marjana, a 35-year-old bank clerk, said.
President Stjepan Mesic of Croatia, which fought Yugoslav troops in its struggle for independence, described the assassination as "an act of madness."
"This is not good for Serbia, not good for us in the neighborhood. Serbia has been through a difficult period...and this assassination will slow down its progress toward democracy," he told reporters.
POLITICAL CLASHES
Djindjic, a liberal aligned to the West, often feuded with the more nationalist former Yugoslav President Vojislav Kostunica (news - web sites) over the pace of reform.
Djindjic enraged coalition partners with alleged attempts by associates to take control of mismanaged state enterprises.
He clashed with Kostunica over his demand for sackings of police and state security chiefs and over his threats to attack ethnic Albanian rebels in a post-war buffer zone along Kosovo's boundary with Serbia.
In all three cases, Kostunica's huge popularity forced Djindjic to back off.
Djindjic, married with two children, took office as Serbian prime minister in February 2001 after December elections, and often pledged to clamp down on corruption and widespread organized crime.
Jailed as a dissident student in the 1970s, frustrated as a popular protest leader in the 1990s, Djindjic rebounded in a street uprising in 2000 to become leader-in-waiting of a new democratic Serbia.
A fitness enthusiast, Djindjic was born in Bosanski Samac, in Bosnia, the son of a Yugoslav People's Army officer.
God bless him and his family - and Serbia.
Serb Prime Minister Djindjic Assassinated
1 hour, 20 minutes ago Add Top Stories - Reuters to My Yahoo!
By Julijana Mojsilovic
BELGRADE (Reuters) - Serbian Prime Minister Zoran Djindjic was assassinated on Wednesday, gunned down outside the main government building in Belgrade, a source from his political party told Reuters.
Djindjic, 50, a reformer who played a central role in the downfall of former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic (news - web sites) in October 2000, was shot in the chest by two large caliber sniper bullets fired from a distance, a police source said.
"He's dead," the source from his Democratic Party said.
Local B92 radio said he was shot in the back and the stomach at around 11:45 a.m. GMT.
Djindjic narrowly escaped injury in another incident last month when a truck suddenly swerved out of its lane toward a convoy of cars -- one of which was carrying the prime minister.
Djindjic then suggested the near-miss could have been linked to his government's attempts to stamp out organized crime which flourished during the turbulent rule of Milosevic in the 1990s.
It was Djindjic who took the decision in mid-2001 to ship Milosevic to the war crimes tribunal in The Hague (news - web sites), where he is facing trial for genocide and crimes against humanity.
B92 said two people had been arrested in connection with the shooting and Beta news agency reported three people detained. there was no immediate official confirmation of the reports.
Serbian government ministers immediately gathered in emergency session, a government source said.
News of Djindjic's death swept across the Serbian capital, shocking many of those who supported the premier and took to the streets with him in mass anti-Milosevic protests.
"Is he really dead? God forbid! Whatever happened to this country. Can we feel safe?" said 65-year-old pensioner Ljiljana.
"This is scary, frightening. Does this mean even I now have to watch my back?," Marjana, a 35-year-old bank clerk, said.
President Stjepan Mesic of Croatia, which fought Yugoslav troops in its struggle for independence, described the assassination as "an act of madness."
"This is not good for Serbia, not good for us in the neighborhood. Serbia has been through a difficult period...and this assassination will slow down its progress toward democracy," he told reporters.
POLITICAL CLASHES
Djindjic, a liberal aligned to the West, often feuded with the more nationalist former Yugoslav President Vojislav Kostunica (news - web sites) over the pace of reform.
Djindjic enraged coalition partners with alleged attempts by associates to take control of mismanaged state enterprises.
He clashed with Kostunica over his demand for sackings of police and state security chiefs and over his threats to attack ethnic Albanian rebels in a post-war buffer zone along Kosovo's boundary with Serbia.
In all three cases, Kostunica's huge popularity forced Djindjic to back off.
Djindjic, married with two children, took office as Serbian prime minister in February 2001 after December elections, and often pledged to clamp down on corruption and widespread organized crime.
Jailed as a dissident student in the 1970s, frustrated as a popular protest leader in the 1990s, Djindjic rebounded in a street uprising in 2000 to become leader-in-waiting of a new democratic Serbia.
A fitness enthusiast, Djindjic was born in Bosanski Samac, in Bosnia, the son of a Yugoslav People's Army officer.
God bless him and his family - and Serbia.
How awful for his family, and for his country, which has been through so much already. Life just seems too cruel sometimes.
