State of Emergency Declared in Serbia after Premier's Assassination

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Thursday, March 13, 2003

State of Emergency Declared in Serbia after Premier's Assassination

Acting Serbian President Natasa Micic said Wednesday a state of emergency has been declared in the Republic of Serbia after Prime Minister Zoran Djindjic was assassinated earlier in the day.

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Acting Serbian President Natasa Micic said Wednesday a state of emergency has been declared in the Republic of Serbia after Prime Minister Zoran Djindjic was assassinated earlier in the day.

"I declare the state of emergency on the territory of Serbia,"said Micic at an emergency press conference hours after Djindjic was gunned down in broad daylight near the government building in Belgrade.

She said the decision was made in order to protect the security of the people and property and to launch a decisive fight against organized crime.

"With the murder of Prime Minister Zoran Djindjic, the securityin Serbia, the rights of the people and citizens and the functioning of the state institutions have been endangered," she added.

She said the state of emergency will be in force "until the perpetrators and those who have ordered this crime... are brought to justice."

The acting president called on Serbs and state institutions to remain calm and perform their duties in accordance with the constitution of Serbia.

Meanwhile, the government announced a three-day period of mourning and flags were flying at half-mast at Djindjic's Democratic Party headquarters.

Police ordered the closure of Belgrade's international airport,with the state-run JAT airline announcing that flights had been canceled until further notice.

Security was also beefed up at the border crossings between Serbia and Montenegro and random searches of passengers and vehicles stepped up.

Djindjic died in Belgrade's emergency hospital after he was shot and critically wounded at around 12:45 p.m. (1145 GMT).

Djindjic, 50, was shot twice in the chest by high-caliber sniper bullets from a distance, the Serbian state television reported.

Djindjic had a narrow escape last month when a truck suddenly drove toward his convoy of cars. He said later that the incident could be linked to the government's crackdown on organized crime in the country.

Djindjic, father of two children, was sworn in as Serbian Prime Minister on Jan. 25, 2001.

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