http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/02/23/europe/EU-GEN-Serbia-Assassination-Trial.php
Djindjic lawyer demands questioning of Serbia's Prime Minister Kostunica The Associated Press Published: February 23, 2007 BELGRADE, Serbia: The lawyer representing the family of Serbia's assassinated prime minister Zoran Djindjic demanded Friday that the current premier, Vojislav Kostunica, and his key aides be questioned about their role in events leading up to the 2003 shooting. Lawyer Srdja Popovic alleged at the trial of a group of paramilitaries and criminals charged with killing Djindjic, that Kostunica, his associates and his Democratic Party of Serbia, had close ties with the prime suspect, former paramilitary commander Milorad Lukovic. "I am not saying that Kostunica is an accomplice," Popovic told reporters. "But he should be called to explain his behavior." There was no immediate response from Kostunica to Popovic's demand. The court handling the case against Lukovic and other paramilitaries and criminals charged with killing Djindjic, has yet to rule on the demand. Kostunica, a nationalist, was a fierce critic of Djindjic's pro-Western policies at the time of the March 2003 sniper attack. The two rivals had clashed over a number of issues, including the extradition of the former president, Slobodan Milosevic, to the U.N. war crimes tribunal in The Hague, Netherlands, which was orchestrated by Djindjic but opposed by Kostunica. The indictment against Djindjic's alleged killers says they carried out the attack to halt the pro-Western reform and bring the nationalists back to power. Initially, the prosecutors also had mentioned an extremist politician and Kostunica's two key allies — former head of the military intelligence, Aco Tomic, and Kostunica's head of the state security service, Rade Bulatovic — as possible suspects, but no formal charges were raised. Djindjic's allies have repeatedly accused Kostunica of providing at least political support for the alleged assassins. Cedomir Jovanovic, a former close aide of Djindjic, said the idea to question Kostunica was "very important so that we can find answers to all questions." The lawyer, Popovic, also said that Djindjic's killing was part of wider plot to topple his reformist government, which is why political events prior to the killing should be taken into account. He added that Kostunica, who sided with Lukovic's paramilitaries when they staged a rebellion against Djindjic's government in 2001, should be called to testify, along with his key aides. "The aim of the (Djindjic) slaying was to grab power, which happened in the end by the so-called creeping coup d'etat," Popovic said. "They succeeded, the killing in fact set the stage for the change of government." Djindjic's Cabinet — the first reformist government in Serbia since World War II — collapsed in late 2003, months after he was killed. Kostunica became the prime minister in February 2004. +++ ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> Check out the new improvements in Yahoo! Groups email. http://us.click.yahoo.com/4It09A/fOaOAA/yQLSAA/TySplB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> -------------------------- Want to discuss this topic? Head on over to our discussion list, [EMAIL PROTECTED] -------------------------- Brooks Isoldi, editor [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.intellnet.org Post message: [email protected] Subscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] *** FAIR USE NOTICE. This message contains copyrighted material whose use has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. OSINT, as a part of The Intelligence Network, is making it available without profit to OSINT YahooGroups members who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information in their efforts to advance the understanding of intelligence and law enforcement organizations, their activities, methods, techniques, human rights, civil liberties, social justice and other intelligence related issues, for non-profit research and educational purposes only. We believe that this constitutes a 'fair use' of the copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the U.S. Copyright Law. If you wish to use this copyrighted material for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use,' you must obtain permission from the copyright owner. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/osint/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/osint/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
