Anniversary: Serbs honour late Prime Minister Djindjic

15/03/2010

What if? Seven years after the assassination of Prime Minister Zoran Djindjic, the public wonders how different Serbia would be today if Djindjic were alive.

By Bojana Milovanovic for Southeast European Times in Belgrade -- 15/03/10

Serbian President Boris Tadic places flowers at the grave of Prime Minister Zoran Djindjic on Friday (March 12th). [Nikola Barbutov/SETimes]

Zoran Djindjic may have been a statesman ahead of his time, particularly in his determination to get Serbia on the track to Euro-Atlantic integration. He didn't live to see it.

"We need a new social consensus, the delaying of all disputes and conflicts, we need to roll up our sleeves and bring order here," Djindjic said once, persistent in his vision that Serbs fight a better way. "The results do not depend solely on me, but also on the millions of people who should do something for themselves."

Few understood or shared Djindjic's perseverance. But his message had staying power, illustrated by the long line of people who patiently waited to honour the assasinated leader at his grave Friday (March 12th), the seventh anniversary of his death.

"If Zoran were alive, there wouldn't be this much crime and it would have been much better if he had been with us the whole time," Miroslav Paunkovic, 56, told SETimes.

Zorica Stanarevic, 48, believes Serbia ground to a halt after Djindjic's murder.

"It was a fast train and now everything is standing still. Our country is the same as our railroads and railway. Nothing is the same without him," Stanarevic told SETimes.

In order to pay her respects, 26-year-old Jovana Tomasevic traveled to Belgrade from the central town of Kragujevac. She believes Serbia would already be in the EU if Djindjic were alive.

"[President] Boris Tadic did contribute to Serbia's further progress," the young woman said. "I don't think he's ideal, but he's the best choice at the moment."

State officials say Djindjic's vision of a European Serbia should guide the nation.

"We must think about what he promised and thus gave meaning to our lives," said Tadic. "I believe there is still readiness in Serbia, as well as hope, desire and promises. My intention is not to have several years of empty promises, rather to finish what Zoran started, and I cannot do that without young people."

Prime Minister Mirko Cvetkovic recalled that Djindjic moved Serbia towards European integration instead of isolation.

"The goals remain the same today," said Cvetkovic, noting such policies accelerate economic growth.

Gordana Matkovic, the minister for social issues in Djindjic's cabinet, said her boss demanded efficiency as well as the courage to make decisions that often were politically unpopular but necessary.

"It seems to me that Djindjic was murdered precisely because of his aim to make changes in Serbia very radical and quick," Matkovic said.

Milorad Ulemek, a former commander of a special police unit dubbed the Red Berets, was sentenced to 40 years in prison for orchestrating Djindjic's assassination. The same sentence was handed to the gunman, Ulemek's deputy, Zvezdan Jovanovic.

Members of the so-called Zemun gang have also been sentenced to prison for taking part in the plot.