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Issue: July 27th 2003 |
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NWI Insights - Government of Serbia crackdown on the ruling MafiaLast week a story on NWI by Peter Morgan of Channel 4 news described the current situation in Serbia and the recent attempts of the government to crackdown hard on the extensive grip of the Serbian Mafia. During the years under Milosevic, Serbia grew to become one of Europe's biggest centres for organized crime. The government are now attempting to break the Mafia's hold but it has infiltrated all sections of Serbian society and corruption is ripe, reports Morgan Morgan describes a Friday night in Belgrade where the police are in the process of gatecrashing a private party thought to be dealing in drugs and guns, the hard core of the Mafia economy. He reports, the gatecrashers are clearly not welcome and arrive heavily armed in search of those in charge of the Mafia crime. Whilst the country was caught up in ethnic fighting, the Mafia took the chance to gain control in Serbia. This they did and in the process committed widescale attrocities including the gruesome killing of former Yugoslav President Ivan Stambolic. The Minister of Justice, Vladan Batic, explains that Serbia did not want to become the 'Columbia of Europe', so the government took a stance in March this year, vowing to put a stop to the Mafia. However the Mafia had already corrupted individuals within the state and the police. As the government crackdown was about to begin, the gangsters decided to act first, assassinating Zoran Djindjic , the Prime Minister of Serbia, on March 12th. Prime Minister Djindjic was the leading force behind the Mafia crackdown. For many people in Serbia, Morgan explains, Djindjic 's murder signified a loss of hope for the country. Millions flooded the streets of Belgrade to mourn his death. The assassination of Djindjic by all accounts looked like an inside job, states Morgan. Three gunmen gained access to a nearby building, Djindjic himself was an easy target as he was on crutches after a football injury, the head of security was conveniently off work and the CCTV cameras had been switched off. Dusan Mihajlovic, Minister of Interior Affairs asserted that the gangsters thought that by killing Djindjic first they would change the government and therefore save themselves from being arrested. However says Morgan, it did not go according to plan, and instead there was a showdown with organized crime, exposing the million dollar drug dealing and links with international crime. 10,000 people were arrested. More than 3000 of these now face charges including individuals from the secret service and a top army officer. Morgan talks to a former Judge, Miroslav Todorovic who after denouncing the Zemun Gang on television was promptly abducted the next day outside of Serbia's Supreme Court. Todorovic for the first time talks about his ordeal on television, saying that the leader of the gang pushed a gun into his mouth and said, "Good, Good, with such a mouth and this weapon, you can't miss" Then he ordered the judge to strip and enter an empty swimming pool. Todorovic explained that after such humiliation, other things lose importance. He said he has been devastated by the event, stating, " I’m over sixty and I was naked, at the mercy of a murderer." Todorovic was released and police later shot dead his captives in a hunt for Djindjic's killers. Morgan explains that the attack on organized crime has not been perfect. Important suspects have gone missing, documents and evidence have been destroyed and some argue that the government has simply destroyed one Mafia network and is replacing it with another rival gang. The Mafia undoubtedly have a huge grip on Serbian society, infiltrating such industries as pop culture and football amongst others. One of the most successful singers Ceca, is the widow of indicted war criminal Arkan. Her lyrics reflect the realities of the gang underworld. In football, six Presidents of the League have been killed. Ceca is president of FC Obilic who are currently under investigation for money laundering. Even Former Yugoslavian President Kostunica is now under investigation. He denies all charges and accuses the Mafia crackdown attempts as a way to get rid of the political opposition to the government. Hundreds of prosecutors and judges are now discussing how to deal with the Mafia crime. The Justice minister has come under increasing pressure to get results. So he has turned to the international community to gain ideas and has used Italy's system as a role model to follow. In Italy there are teams of special prosecutors, special police and courts for organized crime. Serbia is following suit with this method and they are currently building a new court room for trials, equipped with bulletproof cages for the accused. Morgan explains that Human Rights groups say that trials will only work if witnesses are offered proper protection and this costs money. Morgan says that there are whispers that eventually Serbia, the pariah state may even join the EU but first it has to deal with its issues of smuggling, extortion and human trafficking. Dusan Mihajlovic, Minister of Interior Affairs, has asked the UK, US and others already to help with Serbia's police, customs and judiciary. Morgan concludes that the falling of Milosevic in certain aspects has made Serbia's problems worse in particular the crime and corruption that are engulfing Belgrade. This extract forms part of just one of the many insightful news features presented on the 24 hour news network Newsworld International (NWI). If you would like further information or are interested in subscribing to NWI, visit their website at http://www.nwitv.com or telephone their subscription service on 1-800-280-4388. For further NWI insights, visit News Views archives. |
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