Who was Zoran Djindjic?

Zoran Djindjic began as an anti-communist opponent of the Tito 
government in old Yugoslavia. In 1974 he was jailed for trying to organise 
an anti-communist students' group at Belgrade University. After his release 
he resumed his studies in West Germany returning to Belgrade in 1989 to co-
found the Democratic Party. In 1996 he formed the right-wing Zajedno 
(Together) bloc with some Serb nationalists and other opponents of Slobodan 
Milosevic's Serbian Socialist Party.

Djindjic briefly held the post of Mayor of Belgrade and in 1999, during the 
US-led war he fled to Montenegro — safe from the bombs falling on 
Belgrade.

He returned when the fighting ended to launch the American-backed 
demonstrations that eventually forced Milosevic out of office and propelled 
himself to power.

In February 2001 he was installed as prime minister by the same western 
powers that had bombed Yugoslavia. The US, Germany and other western powers 
bankrolled his campaign to the tune of more than $US77 million dollars. It 
is not surprising that the same people lament him now as a great "democrat" 
and "reformer".

His legacy

Djindjic proceeded to tear apart what remained of Yugoslavia, a sovereign 
nation since 1918 and a founding member of the United Nations Organisation 
and the Non-Aligned Movement.

In the past two and a half years Djindjic's gangster regime has plunged the 
Serbian people into the worst economic, social and political crises ever 
known.

Djindjic is being presented in the western media as a popular leader. Serbs 
know better. His support dropped to only 8 per cent before his 
assassination .

Djindic set up his own mafia gangs which were linked to US intelligence and 
carried out a series of political assassinations. The Defence Minister and 
the head of Yugoslav Airlines were among the victims.

Economic reforms

Zoran Djindjic swiftly proceeded with "economic reforms", that is 
privatisation of state assets at bargain prices to western multinationals. 
Former laws provided that companies could be sold only if 60 per cent of 
the shares were allocated to workers. Djindic changed the law and the sell-
off began. Thousands of socially owned enterprises have been sold.

The so-called reforms resulted in a huge jump in unemployment (over 30 per 
cent), soaring utility prices and a 20 per cent fall in real wages. Over 
two-thirds of Serbs now live below the poverty line.

Regime change

Yugoslavia was the first country bombed into a "regime change". Promises 
sounded great, the results speak for themselves. The same goes for 
Afghanistan and now as we write, for Iraq.

Zoran Djindjic will be remembered for what he was in the history of 
Yugoslavia — a traitor and a Quisling. (The word Quisling comes from the 
name of the traitor that betrayed Norway to Hitler's Nazi occupation during 
WW 2.)