Prominent Kosovar Serb politician Oliver Ivanović killed in drive-by shooting; tensions escalate
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[QUOTE]Leading Kosovo Serb politician Oliver Ivanović was killed in a brazen drive-by shooting on Tuesday that could reignite ethnic tensions in the region.
The assassination of Ivanović - who was facing a retrial on war crimes charges over the 1990s Kosovo conflict - occurred on the very day that Belgrade and Priština resumed talks on normalising ties after a hiatus of more than a year.
The Serbian government official in charge of Kosovo, Marko Đurić, described the murder as a "a criminal, terrorist act against the entire Serbian people".
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[QUOTE]According to Ivanović's lawyer, Nebojša Vlajić, the attacker used a pistol and shot Ivanović five times in front of his office. Other sources reported the attacker opened fire from a moving vehicle.
"He was taken to the hospital right away," the lawyer told the Serbian daily Blic. "The doctors tried to revive him, but he could not be saved."
According to Serbian media, he was assassinated in front of his party office in Kosovska Mitrovica. Kosovo police said they were looking for the attackers, with heavy police presence visible near the party quarters. Radio Kosova reports that the security forces found the car used by the attackers, which had been set alight.
The police offered a €10,000 ($12,250) reward for the information on the attackers.[/QUOTE]
[QUOTE]In a televised news conference, Serbia’s president, Aleksandar Vučić, insisted that his government had no role in what he called “a terrorist act,” and suggested that the killing was part of a campaign by Kosovo’s ethnic Albanian majority to take control of the country’s predominantly Serb north.
He called a meeting of his security council, and warned the government of Kosovo not to use the assassination “as a pretext to send their boots on the ground in the north.”
But an opposition leader in Serbia, Saša Janković, noted on Tuesday that Mr. Vučić’s government, which he described as repressive, had been harshly critical of Mr. Ivanović in the past. “Whoever did this — and we do not know who it is — works against the interests of the Serbs and of Serbia and the Albanian people and everyone else,” he said.
The Kosovo government condemned the killing, which it said “challenges the rule of law and any attempt to establish order throughout the entire territory of Kosovo.”
In a statement, Hashim Thaçi, president of Kosovo, said, “I call on the law enforcement authorities to expose the circumstances of his assassination as soon as possible and the perpetrators of the crime come to justice.”
In Brussels, after the assassination, a Serb delegation walked out of talks on Tuesday on normalizing relations between Kosovo and Serbia. The European Union has served as a mediator as both Serbia and Kosovo see to join the 28-nation bloc. But recognizing Kosovo’s independence is a condition for Serbia’s membership in the bloc.[/QUOTE]
[QUOTE]["The murder of Oliver Ivanović is a mindless terrorist act that endangers the stability not only of the north of Kosovo, but also the region,"] Serbia's First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Ivica Dačić said on Tuesday in Podgorica, where the news of the assassination of the Serb politician reached him.
"We demand that the police react and arrest the perpetrators and those who ordered this abominable act. The most important thing is to preserve peace and stability in the north of Kosovo," Dacic told a press conference.
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Serbian cabinet member Rasim Ljajić teared up on Tuesday as he spoke about Oliver Ivanović, who was shot and killed earlier in the day.
Asked how he remembers the slain Serb politician, Ljajic said, "that no longer matters, either" - but added:
"He was the best politician from Kosovo, a moderate politician who did not suit either Serbs or Albanians, precisely because he was moderate and seeking compromises."
"He was the target of attacks and criticism from all sides... I spoke with him about that. He understood that reality and he wanted to change it in a democratic way, and that's the main difference between him and the others. Everybody was bothered by him," Ljajić said.
According to the minister, many [of] Ivanović's friends who spoke with him lately noticed that he seemed worried.[/QUOTE]
Sources listed in order of text: [URL="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2018/01/16/prominent-kosovo-serb-politician-oliver-ivanovic-killed-drive/"]The Telegraph[/URL], [URL="http://www.dw.com/en/serb-politician-oliver-ivanovic-gunned-down-in-kosovo/a-42162269"]Deutsche Welle[/URL], [URL="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/16/world/europe/kosovo-serb-oliver-ivanovic-killed.html"]The New York Times[/URL], B92 ([URL="https://www.b92.net/eng/news/politics.php?yyyy=2018&mm=01&dd=16&nav_id=103281"]1[/URL], [URL="https://www.b92.net/eng/news/politics.php?yyyy=2018&mm=01&dd=16&nav_id=103278"]2[/URL])
Well this is going to be the opposite of fun.
Hopefully, it doesn't escalate much further. We really don't need another war in the Balkan to happen.
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