Eight years after the assassination of Kosovo Serb politician Oliver Ivanović, neither the perpetrators nor those who ordered the crime have been identified. According to Aleksandar Ivanović, MP of the People’s Movement of Serbia and Oliver Ivanović’s nephew, this is not the result of institutional incompetence, but of a deliberate political decision.
In an interview with the newspaper Danas, Ivanović stated that the Serbian state has done nothing serious for nearly a decade to clarify the murder of January 16, 2018, in North Mitrovica. “The truth does not surface on its own. Someone has to allow it to come out — and this government does not want that,” he stressed.
According to him, Oliver Ivanović was not killed because he was “a politician from northern Kosovo,” but because he was “a free man in a system that does not tolerate free people.” He adds that the reason the masterminds behind the crime have not been exposed to this day is directly linked to the structures of power in Serbia.
“The constant promises that ‘the truth will come out soon’ are nothing but deception. The truth about Oliver Ivanović’s murder will be revealed only when this government is no longer in power,” Ivanović said.
He also sharply criticized Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić, stating that his remarks about possible pardons in other criminal cases amount to a silent admission of knowledge about criminal responsibility. “When the president promises pardons in advance, he sends a message that justice does not apply to those close to power,” he said.
Ivanović warns that the impunity for serious crimes, including the murder of his uncle, has turned Serbia into a state where politics and crime are deeply intertwined. According to him, this system undermines citizens’ security and destroys the foundations of the rule of law.
Speaking about the country’s political future, he argues that elections in Serbia are manipulated to serve the interests of the current authorities, and that only a broad alliance of the opposition and civil society can bring real change.
“Without justice for Oliver Ivanović, there can be no justice for Serbia,” Aleksandar Ivanović concluded.
