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CNN Live At Daybreak
Serbia Declares State of Emergency
Aired March 13, 2003 - 05:39 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Serbia has declared a state of emergency following the assassination of its prime minister.
CNN's Matthew Chance is live in Belgrade with the latest from there -- good morning.
MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Carol.
And that state of emergency is still very much in force here on the streets of Belgrade, the Serbian capital. Police have been posted outside key civil installations and at road junctions and are stopping buses and cars, checking for suspects in this, the assassination investigation of Zoran Djindjic, the Serbian prime minister.
A makeshift memorial has sprung up outside the administrative building on the steps of which Mr. Zoran Djindjic was gunned down by one or a number of snipers with high velocity rifles. Government officials say they are seeking at least 20 people, members of a Belgrade-based criminal syndicate, in connection with this assassination. Foremost among them a former Serbian paramilitary commander called , known locally as Leggia Acki (ph), sort of a gang leader and Serb warlord, particularly under the regime of Slobodan Milosevic. And I think, Carol, that very much underlines the fact that this isn't just about criminal syndicates. It's also about political rivalry.
Zoran Djindjic was a figure who was seeking to bring to justice, bring to the international war crimes tribunal at the Hague significant figures in the Serbian administration. He'd already been instrumental in the deliverance of Slobodan Milosevic to that war crimes tribunal. Many other figures of the Serbian under world believe they may be coming next -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Understand.
What happens next to the leadership in Serbia? Who takes over?
CHANCE: Well, as you can imagine, this country has been plunged into crisis. The government hasn't yet come out with any official statement as to what step it will take next, although ultimately there will have to be elections and a new leader will have to be selected. It's clear, though, that with the possible price on the leadership of Serbia being death, as has been illustrated with the assassination of Zoran Djindjic, there may not be many takers in the immediate future for that post -- Carol.
COSTELLO: I can understand why. Matthew Chance reporting live for us this morning.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired March 13, 2003 - 05:39 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Serbia has declared a state of emergency following the assassination of its prime minister.
CNN's Matthew Chance is live in Belgrade with the latest from there -- good morning.
MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Carol.
And that state of emergency is still very much in force here on the streets of Belgrade, the Serbian capital. Police have been posted outside key civil installations and at road junctions and are stopping buses and cars, checking for suspects in this, the assassination investigation of Zoran Djindjic, the Serbian prime minister.
A makeshift memorial has sprung up outside the administrative building on the steps of which Mr. Zoran Djindjic was gunned down by one or a number of snipers with high velocity rifles. Government officials say they are seeking at least 20 people, members of a Belgrade-based criminal syndicate, in connection with this assassination. Foremost among them a former Serbian paramilitary commander called , known locally as Leggia Acki (ph), sort of a gang leader and Serb warlord, particularly under the regime of Slobodan Milosevic. And I think, Carol, that very much underlines the fact that this isn't just about criminal syndicates. It's also about political rivalry.
Zoran Djindjic was a figure who was seeking to bring to justice, bring to the international war crimes tribunal at the Hague significant figures in the Serbian administration. He'd already been instrumental in the deliverance of Slobodan Milosevic to that war crimes tribunal. Many other figures of the Serbian under world believe they may be coming next -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Understand.
What happens next to the leadership in Serbia? Who takes over?
CHANCE: Well, as you can imagine, this country has been plunged into crisis. The government hasn't yet come out with any official statement as to what step it will take next, although ultimately there will have to be elections and a new leader will have to be selected. It's clear, though, that with the possible price on the leadership of Serbia being death, as has been illustrated with the assassination of Zoran Djindjic, there may not be many takers in the immediate future for that post -- Carol.
COSTELLO: I can understand why. Matthew Chance reporting live for us this morning.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
