Serb Prime Minister Djindjic Assassinated

[peter2002]

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 in October 2000, was shot in the chest by two large caliber sniper bullets fired from a distance, a police source said.

"If someone thinks the law and the reforms can be stopped by eliminating me, then that is a huge delusion," Djindjic was quoted as saying by the Politika newspaper at the time.

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20030312/ap_on_re_eu/serbia_assassination_10

 

[zimv20]

WWI was kicked off by an assassination in the Balkans.

 

[pivo6]

It is a sad day in the world. This is the man who was largely responsible for hading over Milosevic to the Hague war crimes tribunal and was trying to strat democratic reforms in Serbia. I hope this will not turn into another hotspot in the world. There is too much going on currently.

 

[macfan]

Some are already calling him "Serbia's Kennedy."

What a tragedy. May his vision continue.

 

[wdlove]

Originally posted by zimv20
WWI was kicked off by an assassination in the Balkans.

That was my first thought when I heard it also! My prayers go out to the family.

I hope that political stability will remain in the region. This is such a dangerous world!

 

[Jaykay]

need to do

What they need to do in Serbia is to get rid of the 'old guard'. They're the ones who are at the root of the current problems there (in my opinion), half of Milosivic's sub-ordinates are still in power over there like judges and high profile politicians - who some people suspect are responsible for this.

That country has had enough problems without this.

 

[trebblekicked]

from what i understand, the only reason djindjic was in power in the first place was due to the remnant of milosevic's govt. they still held a parliamentary majority, and he became prime minister (suprisingly, if i'm not mistaken).

it's a real shame. they say that the assassins were most likely organized crime with connections to those who were to be arrested/extridited for war crimes. i'm don't know much about djindjic's policies in general, but he made a clear effort to rectify past wrongs when he extridited milosevic. unfortunately, he made a lot of enemies as well.