Former Đinđić associates in bitter controversy

Former Đinđić associates in bitter controversy

In his Monday appearance on the B92 TV talk show Poligraf, hosted by journalist Jugoslav Ćosić, Mihajlović accused Popović of “keeping in touch with convicted Đinđić’s assassins.”

“Popović created a parallel power structure that was working behind my back inside the Interior Ministry, which I was in charge of back then. That parallel structure led to the sad truth that Zoran Đinđić is no longer among us,” he alleged.

“If you are not comfortable hearing this, then I will call on the special prosecutor and all competent bodies to investigate what Popović told us,” Mihajlović, a veteran in the Serbian political scene, allied with Milošević during the 1990’s, told B92:

B92: Now you are accusing Popović?

Mihajlović: Yes, that’s exactly my point, and that’s why he has pointed the finger at me, can’t you see that? It’s simple.

B92: Stanko Subotić was the one who pointed the finger at you, not Vladimir Popović.

Mihajlović: No, no, no!

Earlier this month, the Special Organized Crime Prosecution named Stanko Subotić as the ringleader of an organized cigarettes smuggling network that operated in the period between 1995 and 1997 and is said to have earned EUR 40mn by illegally selling imported products.

The network was busted on June 6 when police arrested eight, however, Subotić along with seven other members of the group remains at large.

The investigation into the case lasted several years, and was based on a police operation code-named Operation Net, started in 2003, when Mihajlović was in charge of the MUP.

Subotić earlier told B92 that Mihajlović gave him access to police records, containing operational data pertaining to the case.

“Mihajlović himself informed me that the investigation into the tobacco smuggling was underway and that, when it comes to me any my company, it all turned out to be legal,” Subotić said.

However, Mihajlović denied Monday he had shown police data to Subotić, adding he “never even received written reports about the operation”.

“I have never given any reports to Subotić. I only showed him an entry concerning him in the MUP White Book,” he said.

Serbian police issued its so-called White Book of organized crime in the country during Operation Saber, which came in the wake of the Đinđić assassination in March 2003.

Mihajlović claimed that the investigation into the cigarette smuggling was assigned to a special working group formed for that purpose, since the authorities “did not trust the Organized Crime Department”, which allegedly submitted a report to Đinđić and Popović designating Subotić’s business as legal.

“Aside from that, I received certain transcripts of taped conversations, which were at the same time delivered to members of the Surčin Gang as well,” he said.

Shortly after the show, Vladimir Popović said he would sue Mihajlović.

“My lawyers have already filed a civil lawsuit against Mihajlović, and will soon file a criminal complaint with the Special Prosecutor’s Office. The transcript of the Monday’s Poligraf will be added to the material, and Mihajlović will have to substantiate his claims before the court,” Popović said.

“Former Interior Minister, evidently intimidated and blackmailed, tried to ingratiate himself with [Prime Minister] Koštunica and [Interior Minister] Dragan Jočić by uttering the most horrendous lies and slanders he has learned by heart. He believes these statements will shield him from the evidence the two have against him,” Popović stressed.

Meanwhile, Koštunica’s cabinet chief Aleksandar Nikitović said he too had instructed his lawyers to immediately file a lawsuit against B92 TV and journalist Jugoslav Ćosić, charging him with libel.

This announced suit comes after Ćosić at one point in the interview asked Mihajlović whether he was in touch with Subotić, adding that “only several weeks ago Serbian state television (RTS) Director Aleksandar Tijanić, Aleksandar Nikitović, State Security Agency (BIA) chief Rade Bulatović and businessman Milan Beko had contact with Subotić”.

“I have never met Subotić in my entire life, and I never had any kind of contact with him,” Nikitović said in a statement.