Serbia The Killing of Djindjic
July 2004 - 819
0'0
The murder of Serbian Prime Minister Djindjic, in March 2003, shocked the nation. The public was grief stricken, even though Djindjic had been far from popular during his lifetime. However, whilst the nation mourned, Serbias government imposed a state of emergency.
0'25
The police stormed the headquarters of a Mafia ring in the Belgrade suburb of Zemun. The group had become millionaires through drug trafficking, and it was alleged that they had planned the assassination of Djindjic.
During the raid, police shot two of the groups leaders, although whether it was done in self-defence remains unclear. The pair had been a central point of contact between the mafia and the politicians.
047
The Red Berets were dissolved when it was discovered that they had forged an alliance with the Mafia clan. Milorad Lukovic Ulemek, the Berets former commander and presumed mastermind of the assassination, managed to escape.
105
However, Zvesdan Jovanovic, also a member of the Red Beret guard, was arrested. Jovanovic was thought to have shot Djindjic from this house.
114
"Djindjic had begun to smash organized crime, and in particular the drug cartels. This would provide sufficient reason for a drug-ring to murder the Prime Minister. Opponents of The Hagues war crimes tribunal would also have had such a motive. Then there would also have been political motives, which although seemingly insignificant cannot be completely ignored."
142
Apparently Jovanovic confessed to Djindjics murder while he was held at the police station. However, since being in court he has made no such claim.
The only person to remember the actual incident is Djindjics bodyguard, who was badly hurt during the assassination. He stated that a second assailant had murdered Djindjic. Although the bodyguards statement was taken by the police, they were unable to find any evidence at the scene of the crime that might support the bodyguards claim. To date Djindjics assassination remains unsolved. Delayed by many procedural problems, the poor results of the investigation have exposed the weaknesses of Serbian law:
2'20
Serbians do not have the experience of dealing with serious criminal offences and, so, many errors were made. The laws that combat organized crime are completely new, and we find it difficult to understand how they work. On top of that, Serbia does not have a legal tradition that can guarantee the independence of the courts or compliance with correct procedures."
255
This house, in an up market Belgrade neighbourhood, housed the prime suspect in the Djindjic murder case, Milorad Ulemek. He turned himself in on May 9, 2004, in Belgrade, after spending 14 months in hiding.
Ulemek began his criminal career in Belgrade where, after participating in a robbery, he fled to France to join the French foreign legion- which prompted his nickname legija. He then returned to Belgrade in 1992.
3'25
Many criminals used the war in the former Yugoslavia to benefit themselves under the guise of patriotism. Legija was even granted a diplomatic passport for his efforts. He fought in Croatia and Bosnia for the Serb Volunteer Tigers, a paramilitary formation under the command of the Serbian secret police, run by the war criminal "Arkan.
3'55
Legija grew close to Arkan even attending Arkans wedding to the famous Serbian Folk singer Ceca.
In 1998, Legija took over the command of the Special Operations Unit, also known as the Red Berets, but was retired in June 2001, after his infamy grew.
In February 2000 the military leader Arkan was shot in a hotel in Belgrade, believed to have been removed by Milosevics henchmen for becoming a little too big for his boots. His widow, Ceca, remained in their Belgrade mansion.
420
Although having served in Milosevics guard, Legija had remained neutral at Milosevics fall and had contributed to a nearly bloodless changeover of power. Prime Minister Djindjic had appreciated this and, in fact, lauded this restraint, which turned Legija into a legend.
4'50
Serbia has a rotten value system; it has become very negative in recent years. Now bandits become heroes. This attitude was consolidated in 1993. A long phase of isolation followed for our country, which allowed bad beliefs time to solidify. The young people are our biggest problem. There are whole generations that have grown up under Milosevic and so hate Albanians and Croats, even though they have neither been to Croatia nor had any contact with Albanians. They have not had the opportunity to travel either, as they do not have enough money, or they could not get visas. So they are unable to compare their own values to anything else.
5'43
In any case, Legijas statements before the court are provocative. He denies participation in the Djindjic murder and states that Djindjic smuggled large quantities of drugs on behalf of the government to Western Europe. In reality the police found the drugs in a safe belonging to the secret service after the fall of Milosevic.
6'06
Many tabloid papers have taken up these stories unchecked. It was reported that Djindjics coffin carriers and close allies had become suspiciously rich in affairs involving the former Prime Minister. These conspiracy theories have particularly struck a chord with supporters of Milosevic and the Ultra-nationalists.
6'30
Radovanovic:
They are ready to believe that obvious lies are true. Everything has an explanation which can be connected to a conspiracy theory. This thinking, which maintains that it was of great interest to international secret services to turn Serbia into chaos, was encouraged by Milosevic, and is still supported by much of the media after his downfall."
6'55
Legija is expected to receive a long prison sentence because alongside the charge of murder,
he is also accused of crimes from the Milosevic era. The accusations centre upon an accident involving opposition leader Vuk Draskovic. In autumn 1999, a truck collided with traffic head on. Four people died, but the politician survived. The driver of the truck belonged to the Red Berets.
7'28
Finally there is controversy surrounding the murder of Iwan Stambolic, Milosevics predecessor in office as Serbian president and his opponent. Stambolic disappeared without a trace in a forest four years ago. The police only found his corpse early last year after Legijas former security head spoke out and led the police to the spot where Stambolic had been shot and buried.
8'01
Many Serbs now ask themselves why, after all these crimes, did Zoran Djindjic have to die before the police took the fight against organized crime seriously.
Reporter: Christian Wehrschütz out of Belgrade
INSERT1: Dobrivoje Radovanovic, institutes for social criminology
INSERT2: Dobrivoje Radovanovic, institutes for social criminology
INSERT3: Srdjan Bogosavljevic, poll researcher
INSERT4: Srdjan Bogosavljevic, poll researcher
Camera: Predrag Crvenkovic
Editor: Mica Vasiljevic
Total length: 8'12
There is no sound in two places: both are police videos (storming the house at the start and finding corpses at the end)
July 2004 - 819
0'0
The murder of Serbian Prime Minister Djindjic, in March 2003, shocked the nation. The public was grief stricken, even though Djindjic had been far from popular during his lifetime. However, whilst the nation mourned, Serbias government imposed a state of emergency.
0'25
The police stormed the headquarters of a Mafia ring in the Belgrade suburb of Zemun. The group had become millionaires through drug trafficking, and it was alleged that they had planned the assassination of Djindjic.
During the raid, police shot two of the groups leaders, although whether it was done in self-defence remains unclear. The pair had been a central point of contact between the mafia and the politicians.
047
The Red Berets were dissolved when it was discovered that they had forged an alliance with the Mafia clan. Milorad Lukovic Ulemek, the Berets former commander and presumed mastermind of the assassination, managed to escape.
105
However, Zvesdan Jovanovic, also a member of the Red Beret guard, was arrested. Jovanovic was thought to have shot Djindjic from this house.
114
"Djindjic had begun to smash organized crime, and in particular the drug cartels. This would provide sufficient reason for a drug-ring to murder the Prime Minister. Opponents of The Hagues war crimes tribunal would also have had such a motive. Then there would also have been political motives, which although seemingly insignificant cannot be completely ignored."
142
Apparently Jovanovic confessed to Djindjics murder while he was held at the police station. However, since being in court he has made no such claim.
The only person to remember the actual incident is Djindjics bodyguard, who was badly hurt during the assassination. He stated that a second assailant had murdered Djindjic. Although the bodyguards statement was taken by the police, they were unable to find any evidence at the scene of the crime that might support the bodyguards claim. To date Djindjics assassination remains unsolved. Delayed by many procedural problems, the poor results of the investigation have exposed the weaknesses of Serbian law:
2'20
Serbians do not have the experience of dealing with serious criminal offences and, so, many errors were made. The laws that combat organized crime are completely new, and we find it difficult to understand how they work. On top of that, Serbia does not have a legal tradition that can guarantee the independence of the courts or compliance with correct procedures."
255
This house, in an up market Belgrade neighbourhood, housed the prime suspect in the Djindjic murder case, Milorad Ulemek. He turned himself in on May 9, 2004, in Belgrade, after spending 14 months in hiding.
Ulemek began his criminal career in Belgrade where, after participating in a robbery, he fled to France to join the French foreign legion- which prompted his nickname legija. He then returned to Belgrade in 1992.
3'25
Many criminals used the war in the former Yugoslavia to benefit themselves under the guise of patriotism. Legija was even granted a diplomatic passport for his efforts. He fought in Croatia and Bosnia for the Serb Volunteer Tigers, a paramilitary formation under the command of the Serbian secret police, run by the war criminal "Arkan.
3'55
Legija grew close to Arkan even attending Arkans wedding to the famous Serbian Folk singer Ceca.
In 1998, Legija took over the command of the Special Operations Unit, also known as the Red Berets, but was retired in June 2001, after his infamy grew.
In February 2000 the military leader Arkan was shot in a hotel in Belgrade, believed to have been removed by Milosevics henchmen for becoming a little too big for his boots. His widow, Ceca, remained in their Belgrade mansion.
420
Although having served in Milosevics guard, Legija had remained neutral at Milosevics fall and had contributed to a nearly bloodless changeover of power. Prime Minister Djindjic had appreciated this and, in fact, lauded this restraint, which turned Legija into a legend.
4'50
Serbia has a rotten value system; it has become very negative in recent years. Now bandits become heroes. This attitude was consolidated in 1993. A long phase of isolation followed for our country, which allowed bad beliefs time to solidify. The young people are our biggest problem. There are whole generations that have grown up under Milosevic and so hate Albanians and Croats, even though they have neither been to Croatia nor had any contact with Albanians. They have not had the opportunity to travel either, as they do not have enough money, or they could not get visas. So they are unable to compare their own values to anything else.
5'43
In any case, Legijas statements before the court are provocative. He denies participation in the Djindjic murder and states that Djindjic smuggled large quantities of drugs on behalf of the government to Western Europe. In reality the police found the drugs in a safe belonging to the secret service after the fall of Milosevic.
6'06
Many tabloid papers have taken up these stories unchecked. It was reported that Djindjics coffin carriers and close allies had become suspiciously rich in affairs involving the former Prime Minister. These conspiracy theories have particularly struck a chord with supporters of Milosevic and the Ultra-nationalists.
6'30
Radovanovic:
They are ready to believe that obvious lies are true. Everything has an explanation which can be connected to a conspiracy theory. This thinking, which maintains that it was of great interest to international secret services to turn Serbia into chaos, was encouraged by Milosevic, and is still supported by much of the media after his downfall."
6'55
Legija is expected to receive a long prison sentence because alongside the charge of murder,
he is also accused of crimes from the Milosevic era. The accusations centre upon an accident involving opposition leader Vuk Draskovic. In autumn 1999, a truck collided with traffic head on. Four people died, but the politician survived. The driver of the truck belonged to the Red Berets.
7'28
Finally there is controversy surrounding the murder of Iwan Stambolic, Milosevics predecessor in office as Serbian president and his opponent. Stambolic disappeared without a trace in a forest four years ago. The police only found his corpse early last year after Legijas former security head spoke out and led the police to the spot where Stambolic had been shot and buried.
8'01
Many Serbs now ask themselves why, after all these crimes, did Zoran Djindjic have to die before the police took the fight against organized crime seriously.
Reporter: Christian Wehrschütz out of Belgrade
INSERT1: Dobrivoje Radovanovic, institutes for social criminology
INSERT2: Dobrivoje Radovanovic, institutes for social criminology
INSERT3: Srdjan Bogosavljevic, poll researcher
INSERT4: Srdjan Bogosavljevic, poll researcher
Camera: Predrag Crvenkovic
Editor: Mica Vasiljevic
Total length: 8'12
There is no sound in two places: both are police videos (storming the house at the start and finding corpses at the end)