Assassination Points to Serbia Power Struggle

Slobodan Milosevic ought to be a little nervous. The assassination of his defense minister, Pavle Bulatovic, on Monday is the second murder of a high-profile political figure in Serbia in the past month — and may be sign that power struggles inside Milosevic's regime are spinning out of control. When Zeljko Raznatovic, the Serbian paramilitary leader better known as the indicted war criminal Arkan, was gunned down in January, there had been some speculation that Milosevic may have wanted him dead. "But this time we can be more certain that Milosevic would not have approved the killing," says TIME Belgrade reporter Dejan Anastasijevic. "And it's a serious reason for the regime to be disturbed, because it shows a serious lack of control."

Montenegro-born Mr. Bulatovic was a fierce Milosevic loyalist who helped organize his Kosovo campaign, and there had been some speculation in Belgrade that his killing may have been a retaliation for the death of Arkan. "But we don't really know who ordered Arkan's killing, and the speculation over Bulatovic's death has been all over the place," says Anastasijevic. "There's clearly a violent power struggle taking place within the regime. Although they are united politically, there are different interest groups in the regime fighting turf wars for control of money and resources." Despite the recent assassinations, opposition figures aren't unduly worried for their own safety. After all, with four leading figures in the Milosevic regime having been assassinated over the past two years, it could be a lot safer being his enemy.