Thousands mourn assassinated Serbian leader
Welcome to the Wild West...or what passes for it in Belgrade. Formerly one of the jewels of Eastern Europe, Belgrade represents both the best and the worst of the former Yugoslavia. Underneath it's Eastern European charm lies a heart of darkness. Serbia is a country ruled (some would say strangled) by the Mafia. In order for anything resembling political reforms to take place, those who desired to create reform were forced to make a deal with the Devil. For democracy to become a reality, politicians who desired to create that democracy were forced to agree to allow the criminals to operate almost completely unchecked. Now the price of that bargain is becoming painfully evident.
BELGRADE, Serbia-Montenegro -- Hundreds of thousands of mourners marched through Belgrade today behind the casket of Serbian Prime Minister Zoran Djindjic, whose assassination has jeopardized the future of political and economic reforms in the Balkans.
A band playing funeral dirges led the silent crowds from the Saint Sava Temple to the cemetery where Djindjic, gunned down Wednesday in downtown Belgrade, was buried.
"I am worried for the future of my children. There can be no prosperity in a country where prime ministers are slain," said Dusica Susic, 27, a mother of two. Her comment reflected widespread fears here that the killing could lead to renewed tensions and political instability in the region.
Djindjic, 50, was instrumental in ousting former President Slobodan Milosevic and extraditing him to the U.N. war crimes tribunal in The Hague, Netherlands. That, along with his pro-Western stance and recent declaration of an open war against organized crime and corruption, made him many enemies.
The government has accused an underworld clan and other allies of Milosevic of orchestrating Djindjic's killing as he stepped from his armored car in front of Belgrade's government building.
At a sermon before the procession, Djindjic's wife, Ruzica, and children Luka, 10, and Jovana, 13, stood before the wooden coffin draped in a red, blue and white Serbian flag, covered with a golden Orthodox cross and decorated with lilies.
"He will be remembered for many things, but most of all for ... reaching out to Europe and the world," Bishop Amfilohije Radovic said during the sermon. "He was killed by a (Serb) hand. Who takes up the sword, will be slain by that sword."
Heavily armed police ringed the Saint Sava Temple, and plainclothes officers were inside.
The funeral was the biggest in Belgrade since the death of former Yugoslav communist leader Josip Broz Tito in 1980. Police estimated that as many as 500,000 people took part in the procession, many carrying lit candles and placing flowers on the street.
Elizabeth Rehn, a former top U.N. official for human rights and Finland's representative at the funeral ceremonies, said the murder was "a step back" for the region.
"What we must continue to do is hope that something good and right for Serbia can come out of this terrible assassination," she said.
Sure, half a million Serbs may have taken part in the funeral procession, but mourning for Djindic was only part of the reason. Serbia is a nation with no democratic tradition, but the rule of the gun has plenty of tradition. The players may have changed, but the stories remain the same.
Serbs somehow need to figure out how to formulate a society based on the rule of law, instead of fear and intimidation. The criminal element is so pervasive in Serbia simply because, in many cases, it is simply the best career option for young men. If you dubbed "The Sopranos" in Serbian and closed your eyes, it would sound like a lot like Belgrade.
Instituting the rule of law in Serbia promises to be a bloody process, if it is possible at all. Some might say that Serbs have brought this upon themselves, and there may be some truth to that. After all, your average Serb in the street was more than happy to acquiesce to the excesses of the Milosevic era- probably because they'd known no other system of government.
My experience there leads me to believe that it's going to be a long, dark road to democracy in Serbia. To be honest, I'm not at all certain that Serbia CAN find it's way to an effective, functional democracy. Not as long as the Serbian mafia is allowed to operate with impunity. Zoran Djindjic was not the first leader to fall. No one should expect him to be the last.
