Serbian premier assassinated

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Serbian premier assassinated [BBC news]

The pro-reform, pro-Western leader was shot in the stomach and in the back outside government offices at around 1300 (1200 gmt), and died of his wounds in hospital.

The balkans are still in a horrible mess and something like this happens....is there any hope for the region?...some serious questions are going to have to be answered for the sake of this region...

imho i find it an assasination a desprate thing to do, and serbia and the balkans can only hope that the right man fills his shoes

mike65

This is bad news alright, the concenus at this early stage seems to belive that corrupt police/criminals are behind the murder, there was an attempt on his life a few weeks back.

Zoran Djindjic had been cracking down on graft and corruption within the state apparatus and it looks like his paid the price. Hopefully this won't mean a slide back into bad old ways.

Mike.

Victor

There was a good documentary in TV (C4/BBC?) recently on how the DOS came to power in what was ultimately the people implementing the election results. They knew they would have to oppose the "law" and the authorites and if needs be take up arms to do it (they had lots of that type of people aswell).

I think they knew something like this would happen sooner or later. However I don't think the people will stop the progress of democracy in Serbia.

mike65

On the way home I thought about
this thread, I bet with myself that it would hardly have grown since last night and sure enough....

SearrarD, you should have called this thread Did US spies kill Serb Primeminister? then you'd have seen the usual suspects contribute some waffle.

Cynical moi?

Mike.

Vuk

Originally posted by mike65
On the way home I thought about
this thread, I bet with myself that it would hardly have grown since last night and sure enough....

SearrarD, you should have called this thread Did US spies kill Serb Primeminister? then you'd have seen the usual suspects contribute some waffle.

Cynical moi?

Mike.

TBH, I'm just as cynical, I suppose people feel more strongly for global issues and thanks to the focused attention of the media, everyone has become an authority on the Iraq crisis, whilst ignoring and being ignorant of issues much closer to home.
This assassination has rocked the shaky foundations of a new country borne out of the flames of Yugoslavia, a country yet to prove itself a stable democratic state to the international community, this stability is essential to the growth of the EU towards the east.
I believe though that this event may have given Serbia-Montenegro a 'wake up call' and will hopefully lead to a cleansing of its seedier elements both political and criminal alike (sometimes in a combined category). Serbia-Montenegro's future is now almost as uncertain as the morning of the 5th October 2000, I just hope that someone with a mindest like Djindjic can fully reform the country.

Thorbar

Does anyone have any ideas on who's going to replace Djindjic as the serbian premier? Or how they're going to go about electing him? I wonder if EU will intervene if its an unfair ballot or will it all get over shadowed by what's going on in the middle east. You'd wonder why the likes of Milosevic managed to survive for so long without someone putting a bullet in him.

Vuk

Zoran Zivkovic will be the most likely candidate, but he's not the only one, Djindjic's successor will be voted in by the DOS (Democratic Party of Serbia) committee members, it is not determined by the general electorate, similar to government and presidential elections here in Ireland.
Zivkovic is the current vice-chairman of the DOS and shares very similar reformist views as the late Djindjic.

Hobbes

What amazed me is how organised the organised crime. It's practically an army!

dathi1

yep....they're even teachin our criminals a few lessons.