The assassination of Prime Minister Zoran Đinđić (1952–2003) took place on 12 March 2003 at the entrance of the Serbian Government building. Đinđić served as Prime Minister of Serbia from January 2001, following the democratic changes, until the day of the assassination.
The attack was carried out by a sniper shot fired from a window of the Institute for Photogrammetry building at 14 Admirala Geprata Street. Members of the Special Operations Unit (JSO), in cooperation with an organized crime group, were involved in the assassination.
According to the court ruling, the motive for the assassination was to halt efforts to combat organized crime and prevent further investigations into criminal networks.
In 2007, the Special Court in Belgrade found the defendants guilty and sentenced them to a total of 378 years in prison. Former JSO commander Milorad Ulemek Legija and his deputy Zvezdan Jovanović, identified as the direct perpetrator, were each sentenced to the maximum penalty of 40 years.
The assassination was preceded by several earlier attempts. In 2004, a commemorative plaque was installed at the entrance to the Serbian Government building, marking the place where Đinđić was shot.
The plaque bears his quote:
“If someone thinks that removing me will stop the implementation of the law and reforms, they are gravely mistaken.”
Zoran Đinđić was born in 1952 in Bosanski Šamac. He studied philosophy in Belgrade and earned his doctorate in Germany, where he moved in the late 1970s under political pressure.
He was one of the founders of the Democratic Party and was elected its president in 1994. From February to September 1997, he served as Mayor of Belgrade as a candidate of the opposition coalition.
Following the victory of the Democratic Opposition of Serbia (DOS) in the parliamentary elections in December 2000, he was elected Prime Minister of Serbia in January 2001.
Planirano rušenje zgrade u Ulici admirala Geprata 14 izazvalo je kontroverze u javnosti. Ovaj objekat, sa čijeg je prozora 2003. godine izvršen atentat na premijera Srbije Zorana Đinđića, ima i istorijski i simbolički značaj.
Zgrada je sagrađena 1905. godine u skladu sa odlikama tada vladajućeg akademizma, ali nije pozanto ko je bio arhitekta.
Dana, 29. decembra 2020. godine, Vlada Republike Srbije usvojila je predlog zaštite prostorne celine „Područje uz Ulicu kneza Miloša“. Istovremeno, Skupština grada Beograda usvojila je Plan detaljne regulacije (broj 154/2020 od 29.12.2020.) kojim je omogućeno rušenje zgrade u Ulici admirala Geprata 14 i izgradnja privatnog komercijalno-poslovnog objekta na njenom mestu.
Ovakvo paralelno donošenje odluka otvorilo je pitanje odnosa između formalne zaštite prostora i konkretnih urbanističkih intervencija unutar njega. Dok je šira celina dobila status kulturnog dobra, jedan od objekata povezan sa značajnim istorijskim događajem ostao je bez zaštite i predviđen za uklanjanje.
Ono što je posebno sporno jeste uklanjanje materijalnih ostataka povezanih sa atentatom. Rušenjem objekta nestaje fizički prostor koji svedoči o jednom od ključnih događaja savremene političke istorije Srbije. Time se otvara pitanje odnosa prema mestima sećanja i načina na koji se grad odnosi prema traumatičnim događajima iz prošlosti.
Slični primeri mogu se pronaći i ranije u istoriji Beograda. Nakon ubistva kralja Aleksandra Obrenovića i kraljice Drage 1903. godine, novi režim je uklonio Stari konak , čime je nestao i prostor neposredno povezan sa događajem. U oba slučaja, promena urbanog prostora prati i promenu načina pamćenja.
Ova situacija pokreće pitanje da li se uklanjanjem fizičkih lokacija menja i kolektivno sećanje, i na koji način savremeni grad bira između urbanog razvoja i očuvanja materijalnih tragova prošlosti.
