Suspected Djindjic Assassin Arrested

The Serbian government says it has arrested the prime suspect in the assassination of Prime Minister Zoran Djindjic two weeks ago.

The charismatic Djindjic, who spearheaded the popular protests that brought down Yugoslav leader Slobodan Milosevic, was mortally wounded by two sniper bullets as he entered government buildings in the capital, Belgrade, on March 12.

Suspect belongs to special police unit

Djindjic's successor, Zoran Zivkovic, said the suspect, Zvezdan Jovanovic, was an assistant commander of the police Unit for Special Operations (JSO) that fought in the Balkan wars of the 1990s. He said police found what they believe to be the weapon and also arrested the commander of the unit. The arrests were made on Monday, he said.

Djindjic (photo) made himself many enemies as he tried to transform the Serbia left behind by Milosevic. In addition to raising nationalist hackles by handing Milosevic over to the war crimes tribunal in the Hague, he also led efforts to establish democracy and crack down on corruption and organized crime.

After his death, the government declared a state of emergency and gave police extra powers to hold suspects and raid houses. Officials blamed gangster chiefs linked to Milosevic-era state security officials for ordering the killing in a bid to create chaos in Serbia.

Investigation focused on criminal gang

Security forces questioned more than 3,000 suspects, detaining about 1,000 of them, and confiscated weapons, luxury cars, cash and drugs in the search for his killer and the men behind him.

Their efforts focused in particular on the activities of a Belgrade-based criminal organization that controls the drug trade in and around the capital. The group is known as the Zemun gang, named after the district in Belgrade where it is based.

Police say they have arrested many of the gang's estimated 200 members, in the course of the investigation. One of its leaders has been identified as Milorad Lukovic, a former commander of the JSO police unit. He has also been identified as a prime suspect, but remains at large.

Bosnian-born, German-educated

The Bosnian-born, German-educated Djindjic was known to his supporters as "The Manager" for his organizational skills, while critics referred to him as "Little Slobo" for his authoritarian tendencies, which they likened to those of the "real Slobo", Milosevic.

His role in the wars that tore Yugoslavia apart in the 1990s is still not clear, but he was often criticized for his transformation from nationalist dissident to pro-Western reformer.

His trade of Milosevic in return for a $1.2 billion (€1.1 billion) western aid package enraged nationalists, including his one-time ally, former Yugoslav President Vojislav Kostunica. Their resulting feud paralyzed moves to implement economic and social reform, viewed by analysts as vital to the country's future.

His assassination followed what many saw as an earlier attempt to kill him in February, when a truck suddenly cut into the lane in which his motorcade was travelling on its way to Belgrade's airport. After that incident, he was quoted by the Politika newspaper as saying, "If someone thinks the law and the reforms can be stopped by eliminating me, then that is a huge decision."