Serbian president survives 'assassination attack'

SERBIA: Serbia's President, Mr Boris Tadic, said yesterday that a car had tried to ram his motorcade, in what his party called an assassination attempt.

The West-leaning leader, who has made bitter nationalist enemies by urging the arrest of war crimes suspects, said a black Audi had tried to crash into his car several times on Tuesday night, but had been blocked by one of his security vehicles.

The attack sent shivers through Mr Tadic's Democratic Party, whose previous head, reformist prime minister Mr Zoran Djindjic, was shot dead in front of parliament in March 2003, allegedly by ex-military allies of former leader Mr Slobodan Milosevic.

"I don't know what happened really but I'm awaiting a report from the Ministry of Interior," Mr Tadic said.

"I think this is a very serious situation, especially because of the tragic events in our country last year. I am talking about the assassination of our prime minister. But at the same time I don't want to dramatise our situation," he said. "I am not afraid about my life today."

Belgrade media said the Audi saloon had followed the presidential motorcade for some distance, before trying to cut through on a curve and hit Mr Tadic's car. Bodyguards in a pursuit car sideswiped the Audi, which drove off at high speed.

"This was not an incident which lasted a moment. A car chased the motorcade for over a kilometre and a half and it hit one of the escorting vehicles," said Mr Dragan Sutanovac of the Democratic Party.

"We don't know if it was a lunatic or if there was something more serious behind it," he said, adding that there might have been "a clearer picture as to whether some drunkard was driving" if the police had responded more quickly.

Serb newspapers claim Mr Tadic and his allies have regularly received death threats over their support for the United Nations war crimes tribunal in The Hague.

Serbia's nationalist Prime Minister, Mr Vojislav Kostunica, has urged suspects to hand themselves over, but claims that arresting them would jeopardise the country's stability.