By Dragana Trifkovic
Serbian President Vucic’s policy of appeasement towards Greater Albanian irredentism and chauvinism, in the NATO occupied region in southern Serbia, in the name of ‘peace’ and ‘respectability’ in the eyes of the EU and NATO, has approached its final point.
The assassination of Ivanovic could not have happened if the Serbian government hadn’t agreed to relinquish the police and security apparatus to the illegal occupational puppet government controlled from DC and Tirana. As Trifkovic previously wrote, Serbia attempts to further appease US ambitions in the Balkans precisely at an historical juncture when US hegemony shrinks and global multipolarity rises. – J. Flores
The facts indicate that the Brussels agreement, signed by Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, [then Prime Minister], with the separatists in Pristina in 2013, negatively affected the security of Serbs in Kosovo. The main reason is that according to the Brussels agreement, the institutions of Serbia on the Serbian territory of Kosovo and Metohija were extinguished, and the Serbian police and the judiciary were therefore integrated into the illegal Kosovo system, which functions according to the constitution and laws of the so-called Kosovo State [created by the US occupational forces, and enforced by the US military base Bondsteel, with NATO’s KFOR- JF]. This led to arrests of Serbs in Kosovo by Albanians from the Kosovo police and then to the trials by the Albanian courts established by the false State of Kosovo. This was exactly what happened in the case of the killed Ivanovic
In Kosovska Mitrovica, one of the leading Serbian politicians from Kosovo and Metohija was killed outside the premises of his party. According to official information, he was killed by shooting in the back when the killer fired several bullets from a gun with silencer. This all points to the fact that the murder was professionally carried out.
I would like to underline the fact that Oliver Ivanovic was in prison for a long time, after he was sentenced for being involved in war crimes, according to the Albanian side’s accusation, and was convicted by the court of the illegal State of Kosovo. Then the entire legal suit was returned to its beginning, and Ivanovic was released for home detention. Ivanovic was arrested on the eve of the second round of elections in Kosovska Mitrovica, when he was a favorite candidate for the mayor.
After Oliver Ivanovic was released from prison, in April 2017 his car was set on fire, and in addition, he received many threatening messages. He said several times that his life was threatened, and a few days ago he said he was afraid of assassination. Speaking about the security situation in the North of Kosovo being utterly unstable, Oliver Ivanovic said: “I am afraid that some innocent may suffer in this unstable situation, and I have to admit that I am also afraid for my own safety.” Unfortunately, this fear of him came true in the worst possible way.
Apart from Oliver Ivanovic, also other prominent Serbs from Kosovo pointed out that the security situation was critical, but the Serbian leadership ignored such claims and exposed the opposite estimates to the public – that the security situation in Kosovo and Metohija was improving. The Serbian president reiterated that two days ago on State television.
The following facts are revealing: only in northern Kosovo during the period of the SNS rule (Serbian Progressive Party) a large number of violence acts occurred. According to a report from the National Movement “The Fatherland”, founded by Serbs from Kosovo and Metohija, since 2012, “more than a hundred vehicles were burned, five Serbs were killed, dozens of armed attacks were committed against the political opponents of the present government, without any of the culprits being identified.” They also state that in the period from 2002 to 2013 no Serb was killed in the north of Kosovo.
These facts indicate that the Brussels agreement, signed by Aleksandar Vucic with the separatists in Pristina in 2013, negatively affected the security of Serbs in Kosovo. The main reason is that according to the Brussels agreement, the institutions of Serbia on the territory of Kosovo and Metohija were extinguished, and the Serbian police and the judiciary were therefore integrated into the Kosovo system, which functions according to the Constitution and laws of the so-called Kosovo State. This led to arrests of Serbs in Kosovo by Albanians from the Kosovo police and then to the trials by the Albanian courts established by the false State of Kosovo. This was exactly what happened in the case of the killed Ivanovic.
The big problem for the Serbs concerning Kosovo is also the so-called “Serbian List” – a joint creation of Belgrade and Pristina, which is part of the Kosovo government and which is repressing the remaining Serbs. Oliver Ivanovic pointed out this problem, saying that the Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija now have a bigger problem with the Serbs than with the Albanians.
In any case, this tragedy will further destabilize the situation in Kosovo, and complicate relations between Serbs from Kosovo and Metohija on one hand, and Serbian authorities in Belgrade and the so-called “Serbian List” on the other hand, as well as the mutual relations of all Serbs with the Albanians in Kosovo.
The dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina, which is being held in Brussels, and which has already resulted in the unfortunate Brussels agreement, was also suspended and the Serbian delegation returned from Brussels. Unfortunately, from the address of Aleksandar Vucic at the press conference, which he summoned because of the murder of Oliver Ivanovic, we could conclude that the dialogue will continue and that Serbia’s leadership does not intend to stop its extremely wrong political course.
I am afraid that this murder, as well as many other murders of Serbs in Kosovo, will remain unclear. According to public reactions, it can be noticed that there are various doubts – those mentioning that Oliver Ivanovic was killed by Albanian extremists, and others that he was killed by his political opponents and that it was a politically motivated murder. Also, there are opinions saying that foreign secret services are involved in this case.
The tragic murder of Oliver Ivanovic is a confirmation that Serbia’s policy concerning Kosovo has failed and that Brussels negotiations cannot result in anything positive for the Serbian people. It is also a confirmation that the West and its democratization of society, the protection of human rights, the construction of institutions and similar mantras are misleading us, while hatred, violence, crime and chaos are progressing.
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Dragana Trifkovic is the director of the Centre for Geostrategic Studies (Belgrade, Serbia), and has written numerous articles on the geopolitics of the Balkans.
translated by Svetlana Maksovic for FRN
18. january 2018.