It has been just over three years since Vecernje Novisti correspondent Milan Pantic was murdered outside his apartment in Jagodina on 11 June 2001. Unknown assailants attacked him with a metal pipe as he arrived home from a grocery store, where he had bought bread and milk for his family's breakfast. The killing was strongly condemned by UNESCO and international media organisations, and has been widely viewed as demonstrating the problems independent journalists in Serbia continue to face in the post-Milosevic era.

Many suspect the motive for Pantic's murder can be found in his writing. He was killed after completing a series of articles about economic crimes in the Morava River region of central Serbia, in which he directly implicated powerful local figures in crimes such as theft of public property and abuse of power. Prior to his murder, Pantic had reportedly received numerous telephone threats.

"Many connected his murder to the underground in the Morava River region," said Branislav Jovanovic, a journalist with Radio-Television Jagodina. "He specialised in this subject and certainly the killers and those who ordered the killing should be sought among this crowd."

Despite the intensive campaign against organised crime that followed the March 2003 assassination of Serbian Prime Minister Zoran Djindjic, police have yet to make a breakthrough in the Pantic case. The journalist's widow, Zivka, has said she is disappointed that the killers have not been brought to justice, and discouraged by the attitude of state officials.

"It’s been three years. It’s very difficult to live and wake each day with the same question on my mind: who killed Milan, and why? Unfortunately there’s still no answer," Serbian media quoted her as saying.

Local police in Jagodina, meanwhile, insist that the case is a top priority and that it is being investigated using all available personnel and resources.

Those who, like her late husband, are trying to build a free and independent press in Serbia must not be cowed, Zivka Pantic said. "Journalists must be persistent and honest in their work, regardless of the dangers which confront them. I hope the day will come when journalists will be able to write freely in this country, without fear of reprisals," she said.


Author: Davor Konjikusic for
Source: Southeast European Times