TIRANA, Jan. 16 – Oliver Ivanovic, a top Kosovo Serb politician, was shot dead Tuesday morning outside his party headquarters in northern of part of Mitrovica.
Several bullets were fired at Ivanovic from a moving vehicle, according to chief prosecutor Shyqyri Syla. Ivanovic died shortly after in the hospital.
Kosovo President Hashim Thaà§i strongly condemned the crime through a Facebook post and called on local authorities to put justice into place.
Authorities in Albania also strongly condemned the killing, calling it a threat to peace.
President Ilir Meta said this incident should not halt the dialogue process between Serbia and Kosovo, which is an important element in the region’s peace and stability.
The day Ivanovic was assassinated was also when the Serb delegation arrived in Brussels to restart the technical talks between Serbia and Kosovo, but the incident had them urgently return to Belgrade.
A spokeswoman for EU’s foreign policy chief, Federica Mogherini, asked all actors in Kosovo and Serbia to use all means to find the perpetrators of the crime.
Seen as one of the most moderate Kosovo Serb leaders, Ivanovic was the head of the Freedom, Democracy, Justice Party.
This was not the first time someone had tried to harm Ivanovic and those close to him, according to reports. He had previously asked Kosovo and Serbian authorities, as well as EU representatives, to help him.
Last summer, Ivanovic said his car was set on fire in north Mitrovica by unknown perpetrators due to “political reasons.”
The incident happened ahead Kosovo’s local elections, in which Ivanovic was running against Serb
“Some people obviously find my views unpleasant,” Ivanovic had said back in July concerning the arson incident, while also adding he did not believe ethnic Albanians were behind the attack, which he asked municipal authorities in northern Mitrovica to condemn.
A similar incident had happened in 2005, when a bomb was placed under his car parked outside of his building. In September 2013, an unknown men had entered Ivanovic’s apartment and attacked his wife.
“I do not expect anything from the police, because so far nothing has been done in similar situations. Either it is a matter of incompetence, which I doubt, or a lack of courage to enter into conflict with the criminals and solve such cases,” he’d told regional media in July.
Heading a Kosovo Serb citizen initiative, Ivanovic’s views concerning Serbia and Albania were seen as peace-aspiring.
Expert of Balkan issues Edward Joseph spoke with local media after Ivanovic’s assassination, saying Ivanovic’s murder could bring “a general tension in Kosovo’s situation,” as ethnically related murders tend to cause upheaval in this part of Kosovo.
In January 2016, EU Kosovo judges sentenced Ivanovic to nine years for allegedly committing crimes during the Kosovo 1999 war. In February 2017, however, the decision was overruled by an appeals court and a retrial was scheduled.
Ivanovic was born in Peja, in 1953, and began his political career during the Kosovo War, in July 1999.
