Serb premier's 'successor' pledges continuity

Serbia’s likely new prime minister pledged today to keep the country on the course of pro-democracy reforms and close ties with the West as charted by his slain predecessor Zoran Djindjic.

Zoran Zivkovic, 42, a close aide to Djindjic and vice-president of the ruling Democratic Party, won endorsement at the party’s main board meeting today.

He is hoped to take over the government and try to ensure continuity to avoid a power vacuum and possible turmoil after Djindjic was assassinated by a sniper in front of government headquarters on Wednesday.

But Zivkovic neither has his predecessor’s charisma and political skills nor his international stature and contacts.

Zivkovic’s candidacy still needs approval in Serbia’s 250-seat parliament where his holds a majority with the support of a dozen allied parties.

“Djindjic has shown us the way on virtually every issue. He has set short-, mid- and long-term goals for us,” Zivkovic told party delegates.

Under Djindjic’s leadership, he played a role in the successful revolt in 2000 that toppled former autocratic President Slobodan Milosevic.

Djindjic’s efforts to rebuild the country after Milosevic’s devastating war campaigns and international isolation will continue, Zivkovic said.

Priorities include market reforms, privatisation of the formerly communist-run economy and modernising judiciary and the army, he added.

Zivkovic also pledged further cooperation with the United Nations war crimes tribunal in The Hague, Netherlands.

Djindjic extradited Milosevic to the UN court in 2001 for his role in the bloody Balkan wars of the 1990s. Others followed. But Serbia has yet to hand over several more suspects as demanded by the U.N. court.

The likely new prime minister is an entrepreneur from Serbia’s southern city of Nis, where he served as a mayor for several years. The 370 delegates gathered in the capital Belgrade also unanimously approved him as acting party leader, pending a larger convention to fill Djindjic’s post of party president.

The delegates also applauded Zivkovic’s resolve to hunt down and punish Djindjic’s assassins.

Authorities have accused an underworld clan, a mix of crime bosses, drug traffickers and Milosevic-era warriors, of being behind the killing.

Police so far have arrested 188 people, but not a top suspect – Milorad Lukovic, also known as Legija. He is a former paramilitary commander who fought in Milosevic’s war campaigns and later criticised Djindjic for handing over war veterans to The Hague tribunal.

Djindjic’s cooperation with the UN court, his pro-Western stance and a recent declaration of war on organised crime, made him many enemies.

In their all-out search for the assassins, police arrested on Saturday prominent underworld figure Mladjan Micic, also known as Pacov, or Rat, who was found in possession of an unspecified amount of weaponry, a night-vision device and several luxury cars, including a Ferrari.

A state of emergency has been declared in Serbia after the murder, which gave the government, particularly the police, broader powers to hunt down and detain suspects.

Media are banned from publishing any unauthorised leaks about the investigation and police can hold suspects for up to 30 days without formal charges.

Zivkovic said the measures would last for at least another six weeks. He dismissed criticism that civil liberties were unduly curbed.

“The state of emergency will continue until we tidy up Serbia with an iron broom,” Zivkovic said, adding that ”the state of emergency targets criminals. Ordinary citizens have nothing to be afraid of.”

He also dismissed opposition demands for reshuffling the government to include more groups than the current coalition of about a dozen political parties.

“We need political stability and that means a continuity of the current Cabinet,” Zivkovic insisted.

He pledged to pursue “Djindjic’s goals to make Serbia a leader in the region, a member of the European Union and a country with strong institutions.”

Djindjic’s state funeral on Saturday was a massive outpouring of grief. More than 500,000 people took part in the long procession through the streets of Belgrade.

Dozens of foreign dignitaries also attended.