Serbs Pay Tribute to Assassinated PM Djindjic

Family members, friends and political followers of Zoran Djindjic visited the former Prime Minister's grave in the Alley of the Greats in Belgrade's New Cemetery on Wednesday, marking the 11th anniversary of his untimely death.

A party delegation led by the president of Djindjic's Democratic Party, Dragan Djilas, and by his widow, Ruzica, laid wreaths at his grave.

The Liberal Democratic Party organized a pilgrimage of around a thousand members and supporters to Djindjic's grave, carrying roses, candles and posters.

The Democrats did not join the Liberals, as they did last year, when a river of thousands of people flowed to the New Cemetery. Instead they held their own march through the centre of the capital in the evening, with several thousand people carrying placards with slogans like the Democrats' message in the curent parliamentary election campaign, "Democracy is at its old address", and blowing whistles as they passed by the parliament building.

A government delegation led by Socialist Prime Minister Ivica Dacic also commemorated Djindjic's death, laying a wreath at the site where he was shot in the heart by a sniper, in front of the government building, on March 12, 2003.

Djindjic was among the founders of the centrist and pro-Western Democratic Party, which spearheaded a revolt against the authoritarian regime of Slobodan Milosevic in October 2000. He became Prime Minister in 2001.

In June 2001, he played a pivotal role in the arrest and extradition of Milosevic to The Hague to face war-crimes charges.

As Prime Minister, Djindjic was frequently attacked by Serbian nationalists, including his former ally, the then President of Yugoslavia, Vojislav Kostunica.

After he was killed, Milorad...