Death of a Giant

Zoran Djindjic was buried in the Giants Lane of the Belgrade Cemetery. There were also reports on the process of reaching an understanding on who will to replace Djindjic as Serbian premiere. However, one cannot help but feel that the defiantly demonstrative shooting of the renowned Serbian politician was anything but accidental. Nothing is said about in whose way stood Djindjic, one of the leaders of Serbia’s Democratic opposition, an author of the compromise under which Slobodan Milosevic had to finally leave office, and a politician far from being naive in both his ways and views. Everything connected with the Djindjic assassination remains a mystery. Whoever might have put out the contract for this murder, it could hardly have been former leaders of Milosevic’s special service extradited to the Hague court with Djindjic’s assistance — they don’t rank high enough for this. Who was interested in presidential elections not taking place in Serbia and therefore in a lack of stability in the country after the dramatic elections of 2000? Finally, how could this happen at all?

The assassination of Djindjic is further evidence that the operation on Milosevic dismissal proceeded from erroneous considerations and resulted from an erroneous policy. In part, Europe in a decade of conflict could not do anything in the Balkans, displaying complete incompetence, while the NATO air operation produced no results except the need to finance the rebuilding of the country that has gone through dictatorship and isolation. This is also a warning that problems cannot be solved by cavalry charges and an occasion to reflect on the fact that even a European country with the remnants of some traditions can easily lose them all. Serbia has lost Djindjic who was a symbol of change, while the world in general is losing its stability, and the man in the street — his way, and perhaps also his faith.

In the last few years Serbia has been a textbook example of how international problems should not be solved. There are lessons still to be drawn from the Serbian premiere’s assassination. One of them is that there should be some responsibility in the world that cannot be described by such formulas as “the end justified the means” or “revolutionary expediency.” The death of Djindjic might well be retribution for something not done in time. This, of course, does not make it any easier for him.