The party of Yugoslav President Vojislav Kostunica tonight withdrew from Serbia's coalition government amid controversy over alleged links between politicians and organised crime and the shooting of a former secret service official.
The Serbian Democratic Party (DSS) also announced that it would be putting the question of governmental responsibility before the national parliament in relation to the murder of the former agent.
"Momir Gavrilovic was shot dead after offering the cabinet information about alleged links between senior government figures and organised crime," according to the Belgrade daily Blic.
The party's statement stressed that the fight against organised crime had been "one of the electoral promises of the DOS (Democratic Opposition of Serbia) and the principal reason for the party's involvement in the coalition".
It added that crime and corruption remained "the worst enemies of democratic change in our country and the greatest obstacle to our reintegration into the family of lawful states".
According to the Belgrade press, about 120 politicians and mafia members have been murdered over the last ten years.
The DSS complained that fear of crime among the population had been reinforced during the government's term of office.
AFP