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Funeral for murdered Serbian PM
BELGRADE (CNN) -- Serbia paid tribute to its slain leader Saturday, as the body of Prime Minister Zoran Djindjic laid in state at Belgrade's main orthodox church. Serbian citizens as well as local and international politicians attended his funeral Saturday, many passing by his coffin, draped in a Serbian flag, to pay their respects. Djindjic was assassinated in Belgrade Wednesday. A state of emergency has been declared while the authorities hunt for those responsible. Ministers and senior figures from across Europe, including the President of the European Union Commission Romano Prodi, and Robin Cook, Leader of the UK House of Commons, attended the funeral in Belgrade. Mourners paid their final respects at Saint Sava's Cathedral before Djindjic is buried with full military honors in the Lane of the Great of Belgrade's New Cemetery. A requiem service will take place in the presence of Serbian Orthodox Church dignitaries. As police searched for the killers, government leaders Friday gathered to remember the leader whose "courage has changed Serbia." At a government commemorative session, Deputy Prime Minister Zarko Korac hailed Djindjic for his courage and told a gathering of officials, friends and family that "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 Djindjic 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 organized this will by no means manage to achieve what they wanted to," Korac said. Anti-terrorist police moved Friday to demolish the headquarters of an underworld group linked to Slobodan Milosevic, as authorities accused allies of the former president of responsibility for the murder. Serbian police have detained at least 150 people in connection with the killing, mainly from an organized crime syndicate known as the Zemun Gang. The gang's leader, however, still remains at large.
Police arrested 56 people Thursday, most of them described as low-ranking members of the criminal gang the government says is responsible the assassination. But authorities said the snipers who Wednesday pumped bullets into the reformist, pro-Western politician were still at large. Eight of those publicly named as suspects by the government have been arrested. The government said the Zemun Gang, "is made up of around 200 criminals, against whom police have so far brought over 300 charges for criminals acts." The 50-year-old Djindjic played a key role in the overthrow of Milosevic, now on trial at the Hague for crimes against humanity and genocide for alleged actions during the Balkan wars of the 1990s. Djindjic put himself out on a limb to meet Western demands for aid by handing over other war criminals to the Hague and fighting organized crime. His stance also drew opposition from many Serbian nationalists and created many enemies. Judge Theodor Meron, president of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, said Djindjic's "cooperation with the tribunal brought international justice closer to a region which saw terrible atrocities. "His death is a heavy blow to individual accountability for violations of International Humanitarian Law and to the rule of law." -- CNN Correspondent Matthew Chance contributed to this report Copyright 2003 CNN. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Associated Press contributed to this report.
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