site.btaSerbia Remembers First Democratic PM Zoran Djindjic, 22 Years On

Serbia commemorated the anniversary of the assassination of its first democratically elected prime minister, Zoran Djindjic, on Wednesday.

"I clearly remember that day—Belgrade suddenly fell silent. I felt both anger and shame. How could this happen? A sitting prime minister was killed," said Vesna Djordjevic, a 65-year-old former teacher, speaking to BTA.

Vesna and her friend Dragana reflected on the events of that day 22 years ago when Djindjic, Serbia’s first prime minister after the rule of former Yugoslav leader Slobodan Milosevic, was shot by a sniper at 12:25 local time in the courtyard of the government building.

"You know, I almost don’t want to remember. It was such a dramatic moment—on March 12, 22 years ago, Serbia lost its path to Europe," Dragana said.

Djindjic’s government initiated active cooperation with the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia in The Hague.

"Look to the future… look to the future and I will meet you there!" This line from one of Djindjic’s speeches has become a symbol of his legacy. Inspired by protesting students, the phrase is now graffiti on a facade in Nis, where one of the city’s boulevards bears his name, Danas newspaper reported.

For months, students and citizens in Serbia have been protesting, demanding criminal accountability for those responsible for the collapse of the station canopy in Novi Sad on November 1, which killed 15 people. The protests, led by students, resulted in the resignation of Prime Minister Milos Vucevic in January. Two ministers had resigned earlier in connection with the tragedy.

At the end of last year, the Zoran Djindjic Foundation officially voiced support for the protests.

On Wednesday, Vucevic and ministers from his cabinet laid a wreath at Djindjic’s memorial plaque in the courtyard of the government building.

"As a society, we have done nothing to adequately appreciate and preserve Djindjic’s intellectual and political legacy," wrote Serbian journalist Vesna Malisic in an article.

Twenty-two years ago, just hours after Djindjic’s assassination, the government declared a state of emergency to capture members of the Zemun and Surcin clans, along with other criminal groups suspected of organizing and carrying out the attack.

The perpetrators were arrested and convicted. Former Special Operations Unit commander Milorad Ulemek Legija and his deputy Zvezdan Jovanovic received the maximum sentence of 40 years in prison for their roles in the assassination. However, the masterminds behind the killing were never identified.

Following his assassination, Djindjic’s body was laid in state at the then-unfinished St. Sava Cathedral in Belgrade. He was buried on March 15, 2003, in the Alley of Distinguished Citizens at the New Cemetery in Belgrade. More than 70 foreign state delegations attended his funeral.

On Wednesday, former ministers from Djindjic’s government visited his grave and lit candles in his memory.