Kostunica's aides held over murder of Djindjic

Two aides of the former Yugoslav president Vojislav Kostunica have been arrested as part of the investigation into the assassination of the Serbian Prime Minister, Zoran Djindjic.

Rade Bulatovic, security adviser to Mr Kostunica, and General Aco Tomic, until recently the head of the Yugoslav Army Security Service, were arrested late on Tuesday night. They had met the men accused of organising the killing, Milorad Lukovic, also known as Legija, and Dusan Spasojevic.

In an interview with Blic daily yesterday, Mr Kostunica said he was not aware of the meeting and said the allegations against his associates were politically motivated.

"The tragedy of Djindjic's assassination and the state of emergency are being used for a crackdown against political opponents," he said. "Can you imagine anyone in America blaming the Republicans for Kennedy's assassination?"

He denied he had special ties with General Tomic. "I co- operated with him, as I did other members of the army command," he said.

Mr Djindjic and Mr Kostunica, who lost his post as President last month, had been allies who became enemies, because the President disliked the quick pace of Mr Djindjic's reforms and his willingness to co-operate with the war crimes tribunal.

Mr Lukovic is a former commander of the notorious Special Operations Unit (JSO) of the Serbian secret police, blamed for war crimes in former Yugoslavia. Mr Spasojevic, a Belgrade crime boss, was his friend and a former JSO member. He died two weeks ago in a shootout with the police, while Mr Lukovic is still at large.

In the meantime, the investigation seems to be widening to include the ultra-nationalist leader Vojislav Seselj, who surrendered to the war crimes tribunal on 24 February.

Nebojsa Covic, the Serbian Deputy Prime Minister, said in a television interview that Mr Seselj was also involved in the killing of Mr Djindjic. He said: "Seselj gave instructions for the physical elimination of Mr Djindjic, me and [Education Minister] Gaso Knezevic."

Mr Seselj was the head of the notorious Chetniks, an umbrella group for paramilitary units with criminal backgrounds, which committed atrocities against non-Serbs in the Balkan wars.

The arrests of close aides of Mr Kostunica and the accusations against Mr Seselj fit with claims made by alleged plotters that a number of top politicians were to be killed to create an atmosphere of panic, which would then be quelled by the JSO and a government of "patriotic forces". This would prevent further co-operation with the war crimes tribunal.

The JSO was the armed wing of Slobodan Milosevic's secret police, blamed for war crimes in former Yugoslavia. It was dismantled after Mr Djindjic's death when its connections with organised crime were revealed. Last weekend, Serbian police arrested a bodyguard of Mr Seselj, Petar Panic. He acted as a courier for Mr Lukovic and Mr Spasojevic.

* Leaders of south-eastern European nations met yesterday to discuss a range of issues, from boosting Balkan relations and tackling organised crime to the war in Iraq.