Zoran Đinđić
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- The title of this article contains the following characters: đ and ć. Where they are unavailable or not desired, the name may be represented as Zoran Djindjic.
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Zoran Đinđić
Зоран Ђинђић |
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| In office January 25, 2001 – March 12, 2003 |
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| Preceded by | Mirko Marjanović |
| Succeeded by | Zoran Živković |
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67th Mayor of Belgrade
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| In office February 21, 1997 – September 30, 1997 |
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| Preceded by | Nebojša Čović |
| Succeeded by | Vojislav Mihailović |
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| Born | August 1, 1952 Bosanski Šamac, Yugoslavia |
| Died | March 12, 2003 (aged 50) Belgrade, Serbia and Montenegro |
| Nationality | Serb |
| Political party | Democratic Party |
| Spouse | Ružica Đinđić |
| Religion | Serbian Orthodox |
| Signature |  |
Zoran Đinđić, Ph.D. listen (often Zoran Djindjić, from Serbian Cyrillic: Зоран Ђинђић, IPA: [/ˈzorɑn ˈdʑɪndʑɪtɕ/]) (August 1, 1952 – March 12, 2003) was a Serbian prime minister, mayor of Belgrade, long-time opposition politician and a philosopher by profession.
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[edit] Early life and education
Đinđić was born in Bosanski Šamac, a town in Bosnia and Herzegovina, nearby border of Serbia, then both in Yugoslavia. Đinđić's family, from his father side, originates from Toplica, southern Serbian region. His mother Mila, a housewife, was taking care of him and his elder sister Gordana. His father, an army officer, gained post in Belgrade, and family moved to the capital. There, Zoran Đinđić attended IX gymnasium in Belgrade and consequently, studies of philosophy at the University of Belgrade. There he initialy demostrated interest in politics. After being threatened by the communist regime (also trough Party controlled media) for his role in attempt to organize an independent political movement of Yugoslav students, Đinđić left to Germany. He continued his studies with professor Jürgen Habermas in Frankfurt.
It is said that while he was a student in Germany, Đinđić often visited the largest left-wing bookstore in the town, the "Libresso" at Opera Square where Joschka Fischer was working at the time. The relevance of this became a subject of speculation in the context of Fischer's earlier pacifism and his later unpopular decision to contribute to NATO attacks on Serbia. However, neither a political nor a personal friendship of the men can be proven.
In Germany, Đinđić obtained a Ph.D. in philosophy from the University of Konstanz in 1979. He was most proficient in German, unlike English, which he mastered later, while serving as Serbian Prime-minister.
Đinđić was married to Ruzica, with whome he had a daughter and a son, Jovana and Luka, both minors at the time of his death.
[edit] Political career
In 1989 Đinđić returned to Yugoslavia to take a teaching post at the University of Novi Sad, and together with other Serb dissidents he founded the liberal Democratic Party. He became Chairman of the Executive Board of the party in 1990, and was elected to the Parliament of Serbia in the same year. In 1993 he replaced Dragoljub Mićunović as President of the Democratic Party.
After a massive series of public protests over elections annulled by the central government under Slobodan Milošević during the winter 1996/97, Đinđić became Mayor of Belgrade, the first non-communist mayor to hold that post after the Second World War. United only by their political enemy, the coalition "Zajedno" (Together) with Vuk Drašković's SPO and Vesna Pešić's GSS collapsed only four months after their victory. Đinđić was voted out of his position as Belgrade mayor by the SPO, SPS and SRS.
Đinđić and his party boycotted the 1997 Serbian presidential and parliamentary elections, as did others in the "democratic bloc" including Vojislav Koštunica's Democratic Party of Serbia. This caused the Socialists and Radicals to sweep most of the seats, leaving the third largest portion to Vuk Drašković's SPO. The boycott helped sabotage the first presidential election, forcing a second set of elections when round two was ruled to have had insufficient turnout. Serbian law at the time mandated at least 50% turnout for a president to be elected. In this case, Vojislav Šešelj won the second round against the Socialists' Zoran Lilić; when the election was re-done, Šešelj lost to the Socialists' Milan Milutinović.
This caused Šešelj to allege electoral fraud and lead protests against the government. He changed his mind however when the Kosovo crisis began in early 1998, and his Radicals joined the government as a coalition partner. When Vuk Drašković joined the Yugoslav government in early 1999, this left Đinđić as Serbia's main opposition leader as NATO's war began against Yugoslavia.
After former secret policeman, anti-regime publisher and journalist Slavko Ćuruvija was murdered on Orthodox Easter during NATO bombing of Yugoslavia, Đinđić sought safety and fled to temporary exile in Montenegro, allegedly because he was next on the assassination list of then-President Slobodan Milošević's secret service. In September 1999, Đinđić was named by Time magazine as one of the most important politicians at the beginning of the 21st century.
Photos of his handshake with Bill Clinton at time of the bombings have been used to portray him as a traitor, as well as by the opposition to show his and accordingly Belgrade's possible international recognition. Upon his return to the country in July 1999, Đinđić was charged with endangering state security in a trial that was closed to the public and subsequently said to be rigged.
A series of mysterious assassinations included the shooting of Yugoslav Defence Minister Pavle Bulatović on February 7, 2000 in a restaurant. Serbian Radical Party leader Vojislav Šešelj maintained during his testimony at the Slobodan Milošević trial that this murder was carried as a prelude to the successful hijacking of the Montenegrin People's Party in October 2000 by Predrag Bulatović, who successfully reversed the parliamentary majority won by Milošević and his allies, moving his party in alliance with Đinđić's Democratic Opposition of Serbia (DOS). In April, JAT chairman and Yugoslav United Left member Žika Petrović was gunned down as he was walking his dog. [1]In late August, former Serbian President Ivan Stambolić disappeared; he had been murdered on Fruška Gora mountin by men who consented to the fall of Milošević that October, only to assassinate Đinđić three years on. Đinđić and his allies openly accused Milošević for these events either by claiming that he had either ordered them or was no longer able to maintain control and should therefore step down.
Đinđić played a prominent role in the September 2000 presidential elections in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and in the 5th October uprising that overthrew the Milošević regime. While the nationalist Koštunica headlined the effort in October, Đinđić lead the broad-based 19-party Democratic Opposition of Serbia coalition to its victory in Serbian elections of December 2000. He became the Prime Minister of Serbia on 25 January 2001.
In 2001, Đinđić played a key role in sending Milošević to the ICTY in The Hague[2]. Later, Đinđić said that he became disillusioned with the protracted trial of Milošević, qualifying it as a "circus". Đinđić said the court in The Hague was "allowing Milošević to behave like a demagogue and to control the trial".
In August 2001, after he briefed Koštunica's cabinet on Serbian government links with organised crime, former Serbian State Security officer Momir Gavrilović was murdered. This caused Koštunica and his 45 DSS members of parliament to withdraw from DOS and the government. Đinđić attempted to expel the DSS members from parliament [3], referring to the existence of imperative mandate that places all deputies under the control of the party elected to parliament. Meanwhile, Koštunica and his party openly accused Đinđić of involvement with organised crime.[4]
Đinđić was received favorably by Western nations. His meetings with Western leaders George Bush, Tony Blair, Jacques Chirac and others strongly indicated that the West supported his politics. Đinđić had constant disagreements with his ex-coalition partner and then-Yugoslav federal president Vojislav Koštunica, who was his biggest political rival in Serbia itself. His earlier close relationship with Montenegrin president Milo Đukanović had also cooled because of Đukanović's aspiration for an independent Montenegro state.
[edit] Assassination
Đinđić was determined to clean Serbia from organized crime, and created the "Special Tribunal" with a witness protection program. This alarmed organized crime leaders, and was a main reason for the following events.
Đinđić was assassinated by Serbian Milorad "Legija" Ulemek's soldier Zvezdan Jovanović in Belgrade on March 12, 2003. Jovanović shot him from the building across from the main Serbian government building at 12:23 PM, hitting him once in the chest. The high-power bullet of a Heckler & Koch G3 assault rifle penetrated his heart and killed him almost instantly.[citation needed] He was rushed to a hospital where he was treated, but pronounced dead one hour later.
Milorad "Legija" Ulemek was blamed as the mastermind of the crime. Legija is the man who helped put Đinđić in power[citation needed]on October 5, 2000, and also led the operation to arrest Milošević in violation of the constitution in April 2001. Đinđić had no other option but to cooperate with them. Elsewhere, there were small chances for democratic changes. Ulemek was one of the leading persons in the "Zemun clan", leading crime group in Serbia. He was later prosecuted and convicted of being involved in some of the mysterious assassinations and assassination attempts that marked Yugoslavia in the months before Đinđić took power.
Nataša Mićić, then acting President of Serbia, declared a state of emergency immediately. Zoran Živković was elected by the Serbian Democratic Party as Đinđić's successor.
[edit] Legacy
His solemn state procession and funeral, held on 15 March 2003, was attended by hundreds of thousands of citizens and by foreign delegations. Đinđić's death represents a political and moral tragedy to many Serbs who saw in him a statesman of hope who guaranteed peaceful coexistence with neighboring nations, integration to Europe and the rest of the world, economic prosperity and a brighter future.
He appealed to people in Serbia whose goal is for their country to join the West, to join the European Union, and to become "normal Europeans" with normal lives. Unlike Vojislav Koštunica, who openly expressed opposition at times to the West.
Đinđić and Koštunica realised that they both needed each other for their respective goals. Koštunica believed that Serbia needed to join the West so that it could keep Kosovo and so that Republika Srpska could be maintained.
Vojislav Koštunica, who served as Đinđić's political opponent and critic during his premiership, acknowledged his work two years later with these words:
- Zoran Đinđić was the first to take this difficult task to lead government in very unstable times. Probably his energy and commitment made it possible for things to move forward. It is one thing to watch it from the sidelines and it is completely different to be a part of it. I understand that now when I am Prime Minister and watch things a bit differently. He was very important for the whole process.
Following his death, a small but influential movement emerged throughout Serbia and the Serbian diaspora organized around a short documentary about Zoran Đinđić (created by Belgrade director Aleksandar Mandić). The documentary - "Ako Srbija Stane" (If Serbia Comes to A Standstill) - was a collection of edited speeches given by Đinđić on a speaking tour in Serbia shortly before his death. A movement called "Kapiraj" created a network of students and other young people who were committed to copying and distributing the documentary free of charge. This campaign was known by the slogan "Kapiraj-kopiraj" (which means "Catch on and Copy" in Serbian) and its purpose was to have a "non-party initiative to have as many people as possible hear Đinđić's message, to put an end to the fleeing from responsibility, and to do the most for oneself so that Serbia does not stop." The documentary has mobilized many people, partly because of its powerful ending: after a series of dynamic, sharp and energetic speeches, the film ends with a freeze-frame of Đinđić which slowly fades to black as a gentle piano piece signifies his death. The freeze frame interrupts Đinđić in the middle of a sentence in which he is about to warn his audience that "This is our last chance. If Serbia stops now...."
The documentary is available at YouTube.
In May 2008, ICTY-imprisoned Serbian Radical Party leader Vojislav Seselj compared Dindic’s assassin with Archduke Franz Ferdinand assassin, saying “he would enjoy the same fame and glory that Gavrilo Princip has in Serbian history”[1]
[edit] Quotes
- “If someone believes they can stop the implementation of the law by eliminating me, they are seriously deluding themselves, because I am not the system. The system will continue to function, and no-one will receive amnesty for their crimes by eliminating one or two government officials.”―Politika (21 February 2003) and Glas Javnosti (24 February 2003).
- Serbian: “Ако неко мисли да ће зауставити спровођење закона тиме што ће мене уклонити онда се грдно вара, јер ја нисам систем. Систем ће функционисати и даље и нико неће добити амнестију за злочине тако што ће уклонити једног или два функционера државе.” ― Политика 21. фебруар 2003. и Глас Јавности 24. фебруар 2003. године.
[edit] References
- ^ Šešelj: Đinđić killer merits same glory as Princip, B92, 21 May 2008
[edit] External links
- Fund "Dr. Zoran Djindjic"
- Obituary by Gabriel Partos, BBC News Online
- Freely downloadable documentary containing parts of Đinđić's speeches (without editorials). In Serbian, English subtitles available. (offline)
- (Serbian) Official memorial website
- Imagine Serbia Speeches and statements of the Serbian politicians from 1987 - 2007
- "Kapiraj" Movement
- VIDEO: The Killing of Zoran Djindjic - Documentary (English)
[edit] Media
| Party political offices | ||
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| Preceded by Dragoljub Mićunović |
President of Demokratska stranka January 1994 – 12 March 2003 |
Succeeded by Boris Tadić |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by Milomir Minić |
Prime Minister of Serbia 2001–2003 |
Succeeded by Zoran Živković |
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