IV 
108TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. RES. 149
Expressing the condolences of the House of Representatives in response 
to the assassination of Prime Minister Zoran Djindjic of Serbia, and 
for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MARCH 19, 2003
Mr. BEREUTER (for himself, Mr. EMANUEL, Mr. HYDE, Mr. LANTOS, and Mr. 
WEXLER) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the 
Committee on International Relations 
RESOLUTION 
Expressing the condolences of the House of Representatives 
in response to the assassination of Prime Minister Zoran 
Djindjic of Serbia, and for other purposes.
Whereas Prime Minister Zoran Djindjic symbolized the hopes 
of a new generation of Serbs exhausted by decades of war 
and turmoil until he was felled by 2 sniper bullets in 
front of his office in the center of Belgrade on Wednes-
day, March 12, 2003; 
Whereas Djindjic’s killing was a heinous attack on democ-
racy; 
Whereas Zoran Djindjic was born on August 1, 1952, in Bos-
nia and became politically active during his student years 
at the University of Belgrade;
•HRES 149 IH 
Whereas after spending several months in jail for attempting 
to create an autonomous noncommunist student organi-
zation with fellow students from Croatia and Slovenia, 
Zoran Djindjic moved to Germany, where he earned a 
doctorate in philosophy under Ju¨rgen Habermas in 1979, 
and returned to Yugoslavia in 1989 to teach philosophy 
at Novi Sad University; 
Whereas in 1989, Djindjic joined a group of Serb dissident 
writers and intellectuals to found the Democratic Party; 
Whereas one year later, Djindjic was voted the Chairman of 
the Democratic Party Executive Board and in January 
1994, he was elected the party’s president; 
Whereas Djindjic became a member of the Serbian Par-
liament in 1990, serving as the party’s parliamentary 
group whip and a member of the Republic’s Council at 
the Federal Parliament 3 years later; 
Whereas following 88 days of mass protests over electoral 
manipulation during local elections in 1996, Zoran 
Djindjic was elected Belgrade’s first noncommunist 
mayor since World War II; 
Whereas Djindjic is widely believed to be the chief strategist 
and main organizer behind the Yugoslav presidential elec-
tions of September 24, 2000, and the uprising of October 
5, 2000, that resulted in the overthrow and delivery of 
former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic to the 
International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugo-
slavia (ICTY), that was investigating atrocities com-
mitted during the tragic and violent breakup of Yugo-
slavia; 
Whereas subsequent cooperation with the ICTY has been 
judged to be less than optimal, but in recent months
•HRES 149 IH 
Prime Minister Djindjic moved forcefully to fight the or-
ganized criminal structures that Serbia inherited from 
the Milosevic era and to arrest war criminals who have 
remained at large; 
Whereas Djindjic is also credited with masterminding the 
Serbian elections of December 2000, in which the Demo-
cratic Opposition of Serbia (DOS), a coalition of 18 par-
ties spanning a broad range of the political spectrum, 
won 65 percent of the popular vote; 
Whereas the DOS elected Djindjic to be Prime Minister of 
Serbia on January 25, 2001; 
Whereas during his 2-year tenure as Prime Minister, Zoran 
Djindjic sought to advance democracy, human rights, free 
market reforms, and the rule of law; 
Whereas Djindjic’s leadership raised desperately low living 
standards and advanced the integration of Serbia into 
Europe; and 
Whereas Prime Minister Djindjic managed to maintain a dis-
parate 17-party coalition government with a narrow ma-
jority in order to achieve these urgently needed reforms: 
Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That—
(1) the House of Representatives offers its con-
dolences and deepest sympathy to the people of Ser-
bia and the family of Zoran Djindjic following the 
assassination of Prime Minister Djindjic; 
(2) the House of Representatives understands 
that organized criminal groups within Serbian soci-
•HRES 149 IH 
ety continue to threaten the free and democratic 
government of Serbia and Montenegro; 
(3) the House of Representatives recognizes 
that while implementing necessary reforms and co-
operating with the International Criminal Tribunal 
for the former Yugoslavia may carry significant 
risks for the leadership of Serbia and Montenegro, 
these reforms and this cooperation are necessary and 
must continue; and 
(4) it is the sense of the House of Representa-
tives that the United States should support contin-
ued democratic reforms initiated by Zoran Djindjic, 
should urge his successors to dedicate themselves to 
continue to support his road to reform, and should 
pledge to assist Serbia and its new leadership in ac-
complishing these necessary reforms, including ef-
forts to fight organized crime and corruption.
Æ