Former members of the government of late Serbian Prime Minister Zoran Djindjic laid wreaths on Wednesday to mark the 23rd anniversary of his assassination, while citizens and political figures paid tribute at memorial sites in Belgrade.
Flowers were laid and candles lit at the New Cemetery, where Djindjic is buried, as well as at the courtyard of the Government of Serbia building, the site where he was shot dead in 2003.
Among those paying tribute were former ministers in Djindjic’s cabinet, including Zoran Zivkovic, who succeeded Djindjic as prime minister following the assassination. Other former ministers, including Gordana Matkovic, Kori Udovicki, Aleksandar Vlahovic, Dragoslav Sumarac, Slobodan Milosavljevic and Goran Pitic, also laid wreaths.
Zivkovic described Djindjic’s killing as “the greatest human loss in Serbia’s history,” saying the late prime minister had the determination, intellect and courage to reform the country.
“The process of recovery was severely wounded and interrupted on this day 23 years ago,” Zivkovic said.
Djindjic was assassinated on March 12, 2003, at 12:25 p.m. local time by sniper fire in the courtyard of the Serbian government building. He was 50.
A key figure in the democratic opposition that helped topple the regime of Slobodan Milosevic in 2000, Djindjic became Serbia’s first prime minister after the political changes known as the October 5 revolution.
Representatives of several opposition parties, including the Democratic Party, the Freedom and Justice Party led by Dragan Djilas and the Social Democratic Party of Boris Tadic, also paid tribute at the cemetery.
Earlier in the day, Prime Minister Djuro Macut and members of his cabinet laid a wreath at the site of the assassination in the government courtyard.
Many citizens also visited Djindjic’s grave throughout the day, leaving flowers and lighting candles in his memory.