After Djindjic

Who killed Zoran Djindjic? Maybe I'll spoil the pleasure of some detective story fans, but since this is a political thriller, there are various versions and interpretations possible, so no one has to accept mine, especially since these culprits have an excellent alibi. Namely, they are Slobodan Milošević and Carla del Ponte. All others are financiers, orderers, organizers or executors.

The assassination of the prime minister, this very prime minister and right now, requires us to understand the broadest political context and obliges us to put it in a historical perspective, because this event may significantly change the fate of Serbia. And that's why I think that the main forces that acted and intersected in a way that killed Zoran Đinđić's head, and perhaps our future, should be identified first.

Even when he decided to engage in politics, Đinđić, it seems to me, was determined, first: to fight for some large, strategic goals, and not to simply exercise power, and second: to act in all conditions, without waiting for circumstances change and to put something in order first. So, he was ambitious and brave, and those qualities already made him a candidate for a tragic end, because, of course, there is no tragedy without greatness. And in Đinđić's region, everyone easily recognized the breath of tragedy and many subsequently understood that in his fate, in everything that led him to such an end, there was greatness that was often masked by the prosaic aspects of daily politics.

We know that the conditions under which Đinđić took over, that is, won power in Serbia, were impossible. Milosevic withdrew leaving only an empty control cabin in which the command instruments and levers did not function. A good part of the real government, military, police and administrative, just went down to a lower level, remained silent and decided to wait for better times, that is, the fall of budding reformists. Only the top of the state went to Djindjic, everything else conspired against him.

We know that it was not just any kind of state and government, but a murderous, robber and robber one, which simultaneously played on depression, fear, national fanaticism, lies and hatred directed anywhere. To all this, Đinđić was a natural enemy, almost the embodiment of everything they feared and dreaded the most. It was not necessary to explain to that world why the prime minister should be killed. There were a thousand good enough reasons. And there was as much money and weapons and volunteers.

On the other hand, there is no doubt that Mrs. Del Ponte and all her international sponsors pursued a policy that made Djindjic an ever better target. In fact, from the very beginning, the Prime Minister found himself caught between the local villainous-patriotic forces and the Hague ultimatums. He knew that he did not have enough strength to openly go to war with the mafia, nor enough political support to arrest the Hague indictees, and he did not manage to convince foreign factors to give him time, to give up the ultimatum and first of all help rebuild the country.

On one side were those to whom Đinđić looked more and more like a foreign lackey and traitor, on the other those who thought that he too was some kind of Serbian nationalist who was just bluffing and seeing how war criminals could get away with impunity. There was no passage in between, and Djindjic tried just that, and it was an admirable effort. Because Serbia has no choice but to continue to look for a passage in that same place, which for now does not exist. In this sense, I understand those of his followers who are now announcing the course "even after Djindjic - Djindjic". I would, I admit, be the happiest if the Government would now say that it no longer wants to hear anything about The Hague, that no one will be extradited, that it does not receive any mail or messages on the subject, that Mrs. Del Ponete is unwanted forever, that not a single piece of paper he will no longer be handed over and that from now on we will deal with the crime problem ourselves. But that would make many of those on the other side happy. The mob would declare victory. That is why Serbia has no choice but to continue the war against the gang of killers, now you can see what they are ready for, as well as asking for more trust from The Hague, now that it is clear how much cooperation with the Tribunal costs. At the same time, I would not worry too much about the troubles of the Hague prosecutor and other staff at the Tribunal. Here, America is preparing to establish another similar court intended for Iraqis who dare to shoot the liberators, so I guess there will be work for the representatives of international justice, or whatever it is called.

In the meantime, Serbia is in a state of emergency, which I have nothing against, provided that it is really used. I am not concerned about the limitations of rights and freedoms, simply because this is about something that precedes any rights, it is about lives. War has been declared on all of us here, everyone's lives and property are threatened, notorious criminals have told us that they are stronger than the state, that they are the state and that they will kill whoever they need to convince us of that.

The state, that is what is left of it and in which we place our hopes, could not choose how to lead this war. Either with all your might or not at all. This means arresting every suspect, using sufficient force, crushing all resistance, and that is a state of emergency. Some of the more stable, democratic countries have already shown what means are used in cases that were not even remotely this severe. At one time, Italy had completely freed the police in the fight with the "red brigades". Several highly suspicious suicides of imprisoned terrorists have occurred in German prisons. The English police knew how to avoid arrests and captures of Irish terrorists, in favor of liquidations. I want to say that you should be prepared for sacrifices in this war. We have heard a lot about how people like Luković Legion cannot be arrested and how the entire patriotic underground has strong security. Should the police admit that there are forces above them in this country? If so, let Legija be our police minister, instead of Mihajlovic. If not, let the police go into a real and full-blown war and win, whatever the cost. At the same time, it is not even the most important thing to find the killers of the prime minister, but to outlaw the criminals who act as if they are the only law. This is something that started, for example, with Arkan, who had become a role model for Serbian youth, a "reputable killer", as one amazed beginner in the business said. He was probably the most successful man in Milosevic's Serbia and there is no doubt that hundreds of others followed in his footsteps.

It is true that it seems ridiculous that the police started demolishing the castle of that Spasojević in Zemun only two days after the murder. What sudden efficiency! What a sudden discovery that something was illegal there! All the same, it should be demolished and not turned into a refugee home, because we need a striking symbol, a clear message that the end has come to those mannequins of crime. This state must demonstrate the force of law, all the more powerfully because it was almost completely dissolved and disappeared in lawlessness. That Arkan's cult of ostentatious crime, that aesthetic of brutality, that supposed national model of a "dangerous life" should be destroyed: ambushes, kidnappings, robberies, rackets, all with appropriate pop iconography and Ceci's music. This is the last moment to reject all of this together, not only by state force, but also by the will of the citizens, those who have been silently laying flowers and lighting candles on the steps of the Government of Serbia all these days, contrite and shaken and desperate. I think they wanted to say that they were afraid that nothing could save them from that new breed of national leaders trained in the Foreign Legion, who had already begun to spread and transmit the knowledge and wisdom acquired there. Part of those conspirators responsible for the assassination of the prime minister must have hoped to receive some political support from Kostunica, until he stepped down from the presidency. He made a terrible mistake when he expressed understanding for the rebellion of the "red berets", although he certainly did not want things to go this way. He is also wrong now when he proposes a concentration government because that implies an invitation to all parties, and such cooperation is impossible for reasons greater than political ones. Namely, the radicals unanimously boycotted the commemoration in the Serbian Parliament, thus undoubtedly expressing their agreement with the murder of the prime minister, which is monstrous in itself. Does Koštunica think that it should be recognized that this crime achieved its goal, that Djindjic's supporters suffered a defeat and that now they should cooperate with everyone else? I think that a more accurate conclusion would be that Kostunica's legalistic approach was defeated by this murder and that they must really be cleaned up much more radically, even if the people from the repressive apparatus left over from the former regime. Among the monstrosities, Amfilohi's speech on Đinđić's bier could easily be included, where it was easy to understand through the cunning phrases that the speaker did not think anything good of the deceased, and he used the convenient opportunity to tell the foreign delegations present what he thought about everything from the NATO bombing to the upcoming attack on Iraq. It sounded not only completely profane and out of place, but also malicious, vindictive and spiteful. If I am wrong, please forgive me. So, right there at the funeral, the struggle for positions in post-Džinđić Serbia began. Živković as the new prime minister seems to me that I would like Đelić, but he is not a member of the party, and besides, I guess it is considered that the times are wartime and that Živković is better for that. In any case, DS and allied parties would have to be very careful in trying to present Djindjic's tragic death as proof of their own qualities. It would be even worse if it turned out that the government is abusing the state of emergency against its political opponents. But let's wait. Not exactly all the intelligence that could be found here was buried with Đinđić.