Serbian government holds commemorative session

Belgrade, March 14, 2003 - The Serbian government held today a commemorative session for the late Prime Minister, Zoran Djindjic. Among those present were the Prime Minister's family and friends, Serbian and Montenegrin officials and representatives of the diplomatic corps.

Deputy Prime Minister Zarko Korac addressed those present:

"Dear friends,

I was given the duty and honour on behalf of the Government of the Republic of Serbia to say the final farewell to our Prime Minister, friend and colleague, Zoran Djindjic.

When the Serbian government was appointed in January 2001, everyone knew that it was formed as a result of thousands of people having had to sacrifice their lives to get the government they deserved after a decade of disaster, wars, and suffering. No one knew that better than him, Zoran Djindjic, the first Prime Minister of the first democratic government which had to be appointed after such a sacrifice of the people. Today, no one remembers that at the time many were saying that this would only be a short-lived interim government which would soon dissolve; that no one would be able to hold 19 parties together, and that no one could win the battle against what was left by Slobodan Milosevic's regime. They were proved wrong. And every one in this government knows that its driving force as well as the engineer of reforms was the Prime Minister; a man who had restless energy and the great hope that Serbia be different, that it could and had to change. He did not like long meetings, but he had time for everyone. Everything interested him… he was interested in all things and he liked to share his thoughts on his idea of Serbia with everyone. During those two years of huge obstacles that were mainly erected by elements of the last regime and by people who did not believe that something needed to be sacrificed for the sake of changes in Serbia, he grew into a pillar and a symbol of those changes and reforms.

The lot of reformers in Serbia has always been a cruel one - in the 19th, 20th, and 21st centuries. Sadly, reformers in Serbia gain their glory only after death, because it is only then that this country realises what had to be sacrificed and what courage it took to defy tradition, conservativism, and, to our misfortune, the decay of the past ten years. I have to say something personal now: I've known Zoran Djindjic for more than 30 years, ever since my university days. He was a man literally made for the Prime Minister's role - always inquisitive, ready take a risk, to learn, and always quick to make decisions - almost always in the interest of Serbia and its citizens.

We, who worked with him, and the citizens of Serbia know how much he has invested in the past two years, and know that those who had ordered, organised, and paid for this murder in some way or other recognised his achievements - because now that Serbia is irreversibly changing, they wanted to stop history, hoping that when the main reformer, the symbol and pillar of those reforms is removed, even in such a violent manner, the reforms would collapse and Serbia would return to the state in which they felt comfortable. Of course, they were wrong. In the past two years, as well as during his ten years in opposition, Zoran Djindjic changed Serbia enough for it to be completely different from that which we found when we took office in 2001.

Zoran Djindjic will stay where nobody can ever hurt him again: in the hearts of those who loved him, and in the minds of people who will think about him more often now than they used to think about him while he was alive. An old American proverb says: 'No man is dead until he is forgotten.' I'm quite sure that one day, when Serbia is completely different than it is today - when it is peaceful, happy, prosperous, and part of Europe, and when people look back at history to see a gallery of personalities who sacrificed themselves to make their country better and happier - this period of two years will perhaps prove to have been the most important in the history of this nation. This is a period during which Serbia has had to make the largest number of tough decisions, perhaps in its entire history. None of those decisions would have been made if Zoran Djinjdic had not stood behind them, with his heart, soul, and mind. Serbia cannot make up for this loss, neither can his family or his friends, and, if I may say so, his children. But those children will live in a better world; a world that he had handed down to them. And I can assure you, dear friends, that Serbia is different today, and that the criminals who had organised this will by no means manage to achieve what they wanted to.

Zoran Djindjic sacrificed his life and work, and was exposed to attacks from every direction. He often said: 'Let me be a 'lightning rod', that's all okay. May people know whom to attack, so that you can carry on working.' When you look at that 'lighting rod' today, in these tragic times, he will be remembered as someone who took a risk, and a responsibility, that not many in Serbia would be willing to take. Courage was the central characteristic of our late Prime Minister and I must say that his courage has changed Serbia. Serbia will never again be the same because it will continue along the path for which he gave his life.

Unfortunately, I don't have the power to bring him back to his most intimate friends and his children. I can only utter these words for a final farewell and say that all of us who worked with him feel terrible and that never, for as long as we live, shall this period of working together with him be forgotten. He was our friend, he was our companion, he was the source of all optimism for us and whenever we went to him to complain, and whenever we fought, and whenever we protested, he always had time to calm us down, to counsel us… He used to tell me: 'Don't get angry, look at the bigger picture - we must modernise and change Serbia.'

For that, he gave his life."

Photos from the Serbian government's commemorative session held Friday