But Milosevic has little reason to smile over the news. Bulatovic, 52, was his trusted ally for many years. Three years ago when the government of Montenegro, Serbia's only partner in the truncated Yugoslav federation, distanced itself from Milosevic's policies, Bulatovic, himself a Montenegrin, remained firmly loyal to Belgrade. Moreover, he was not suspected of using his position to line his own pockets, unlike most of Milosevic's other cronies. Milosevic will have a difficult time finding a suitable replacement.
A Killing in Belgrade Shakes All of Serbia
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On Tuesday, February 8, Pavle Bulatovic, defense
minister in the government of Yugoslav
president Slobodan Milosevic, was having a
quiet dinner with friends in his favorite
restaurant when an unknown assailant
sprayed him with bullets from an AK-47
assault rifle.
The killer fired
from the dark
garden behind
the restaurant.
Minutes later,
when the
police arrived,
the only traces
were empty
shell casings
on the ground.
On the wall
above
Bulatovic's
blood-smeared
table hung a
photograph of a
benevolently smiling Milosevic.