A “moderate” Serbian Kosovar arrested by EULEX forces. (Very) sensitive file (Update)
(BRUSSELS2) The arrest of Oliver Ivanovic for war crimes by the SPRK European Prosecutors' Office, announced by the EULEX Kosovo mission on Monday (27 January), sounded like a thunderclap in Belgrade, as in Pristina or Brussels .
Oliver Ivanovic is suspected “as part of an investigation projects on war crimes and on allegations of aggravated assassination after the conflict”, according to the EULEX mission. The facts would have occurred between 1999 and 2000. Ivanovic was then part of the "guardians of the bridge" of Mitrovica which blocked the city in two. He is notably accused of being involved in the murder of ten Kosovar Albanians in North Mitrovica in 2000. The arrest was without trouble. The accused " presented voluntarily Monday morning (January 28), around 11 a.m., at the North Mitrovica police station, following an arrangement between his lawyer and the special prosecutor of Kosovo”, we say to the Eulex mission. After several hours of questioning, an arrest warrant was issued by the prosecutor around 19 p.m. Tuesday morning (January 28) a European judge from Eulex ordered “one month of pre-trial detention” for the former Serbian state secretary.
But Ivanovic, an engineer by training and former deputy of former President Boris Tadic's party, is also the leader of the local Serbian party “Civic Initiative SDP (Freedom, Democracy, Justice'), a rather moderate party which advocates reconciliation between Serbs and Kosovars. And his detention, while the situation on the ground is tense, as in the diplomatic corridors in Brussels, does nothing to ease the tension.
The drop too much!
Since the arrest warrant issued against him at 19 p.m., reactions have multiplied: demonstrations in North Mitrovica, reaction from the Serbian Prime Minister, threat of resignation by members of local assemblies... The Vice-President of the Civic Initiative Party, Ksenija Bozovic, denounces an arrest “ on a political basis. « If something happened 14 years ago, and you're only summoning a man now, that's a bit questionable." she points out. An unsuccessful candidate in the municipal elections in November, Olivier Ivanovic had, according to her, the intention of running again in the next elections... And the deadline for applications is set for Wednesday (January 29). For Bozovic, this is no coincidence. A delegation made up of Serbian representatives from northern Kosovo came to ask EULEX at 20 p.m. for the release of the politician. Demonstrations were improvised to finally disperse around 22 p.m. But new actions are planned in the coming days. On Serbian public television, TPC, they attack EULEX, accused of all evils.
Still difficult negotiations in Brussels
On the side of the Serbian government, misunderstanding also dominates. Serbian Prime Minister said " surprised " of this arrest, while sitting in Brussels for the 21st round of the Pristina-Belgrade dialogue. “The movement is rather negative” he claimed “We hope this will not affect the upcoming elections in the northern part of Mitrovica on February 23” he added. The recent unrest in the city and the death of a local Serbian elected official a week ago had already raised the pressure a notch. This will not facilitate the dialogue Pristina Belgrade, placed under the leadership of the High Representative of the EU, Catherine Ahston, who still stumbles on the question of the municipalities and in particular of Mitrovica-Nord.
(UPDATE 5.2.2013) A panel of judges from the Pristina Court of Appeal upheld the decision of the Mitrovica Magistrate's Court to keep him in custody for another month and refused Oliver's request for release Ivanovic. The judges believe that there is a " substantial risk that the accused may flee " or " may intimidate witnesses".
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