[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 32 (Wednesday, March 16, 2005)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E454-E455]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 REMEMBERING THE LIFE AND WORK OF SERBIAN PRIME MINISTER ZORAN DJINDJIC

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. DAN BURTON

                               of indiana

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, March 15, 2005

  Mr. BURTON of Indiana. Mr. Speaker, on March 12, 2003, Serbia's Prime 
Minister Zoran Djindjic was brutally assassinated in broad day light on 
the streets of Belgrade, Serbia.
  As Serbia's first democratically-elected, non-communist Prime 
Minister following the fall of Slobodan Milosevic, Zoran Djindjic 
brought to his office and the people of Serbia more than democracy and 
freedom--he brought with him the hopes and dreams of the Serbian 
people. Under the oppressive rule of tyrannical dictators and 
autocrats, the Serbian people were emotionally and physically battered 
and scarred by years of ethnic civil-war and bombings. Prime Minister 
Djindjic promised them a better future filled with peace and 
prosperity.

[[Page E455]]

  Along with other democratic allies, and anti-war protesters, Zoran 
Djindjic effectively protested and toppled the corrupt regime of 
Slobodan Milosevic through a steadfast, determined, yet peaceful 
process.
  Along with his fellow reformers, Mr. Djindjic created the Democratic 
Party, and led it to a series of successful electoral victories, 
ultimately culminating in Mr. Djindjic's ascension to the post of Prime 
Minister of Serbia on January 25, 2001.
  During his 2 years in office, Prime Minister Djindjic worked 
tirelessly to shed the image of a ``backward'' Serbia. Under his 
effective leadership, Prime Minister Djindjic systematically realigned 
Serbia with the Western ideals of democracy, reform and capitalism.
  Through a heroic and selfless act of courage, Prime Minister Djindjic 
arrested and extradited the man he helped remove from power, and sent 
Slobodan Milosevic, and his fellow fugitive war criminals to the 
International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia at The Hague 
(ICTY) where they were indicted and tried.
  Prime Minister Djindjic went to great lengths to bring foreign 
investment and capital back into Serbia's economy by embracing free 
market concepts, thus laying the groundwork for Serbia's long-term 
fiscal security and prosperity.
  In addition, Prime Minister Djindjic advanced Serbia's relationship 
with the Trans-Atlantic community. By centering Serbia's foreign policy 
initiatives, Prime Minister Djindjic has positioned Serbia to become a 
working and peaceful member of the European Union (EU) and the North 
Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).
  Mr. Djindjic worked relentlessly to improve the lives of everyday 
Serbs through economic development, structural and political reform, 
and an open, and peaceful foreign policy.
  Unfortunately for the people of Serbia, Mr. Djindjic's work was cut 
short by an assassin's bullet outside his office on March 12, 2003.
  So, on this day, let the House of Representatives remember the life 
and work of Mr. Zoran Djindjic, Prime Minister of Serbia, and let us 
hope and pray for a better and more prosperous future for the people of 
Serbia, and the whole Balkan region.

                          ____________________