Oliver Ivanovic, leader of the CI SDP, who is currently in custody, in an interview for Radio Kontakt Plus says he is optimistic that he will soon be released. Radio Kontakt Plus received the answers to the questions through Ivanovic’s lawyer.
Do you believe that you will soon be released and whether there’s any justice in Kosovo?
It’s hard to be optimistic in this situation, but I am optimistic due to several reasons. First, the trial must soon begin. Since 90 per cent of all witnesses do not speak about me but situation in general, and since witnesses of Prosecutor are fictional, twice as many people of all structures and all nationalities from my side will confirm that this is absolutely not true. Nothing in my life could be associated with any accusation. Nothing, absolutely nothing. Thus, this is a politically motivated indictment, which aims only to balance the number of accused Serbs and Albanians, and show that EULEX mission is supposedly impartial in this regard.
Are you satisfied with the reaction of the Government of Serbia after your arrest and your stay in detention?
Yes, and I must say that Serbian Government surprised me. I thought that in the abundance of problems that government have, it will not have a time to deal with this issue but what is more important, I think the reaction of the Government of Serbia surprised those who made political structure around my arrest, i.e. EULEX. As I believe, EULEX officials expected that due to the fact I am not a member of any of the parties in Serbia, and therefore any of the parties in power, there will not be reaction of population on my arrest. They made mistakes in both cases, selection of the target and then the estimates of reaction.
How do you comment on the scandals that rocked EULEX?
It is obvious that something is “fishy”. I don’t like to comment something like this, because this is not enough to make an explicit position, but I’m sure if there would be a real, impartial investigation some information would come up. From the very beginning the EULEX has an identity crisis, and is functioning in schizophrenic situation. They are trying to meet the Albanian expectations, but at the same time the pressure from the United Nations and high political circles does not allow violation of the Resolution 1244. The Serbian side is very prompt and active in highlighting UNSC Resolution. Exactly that fact doesn’t give EULEX wide room for manoeuvre. Therefore, I think that the investigation must be carried out until the end. It seems to me that suspended Prosecutor will have to say a lot of things. For me, that fact doesn’t mean something remarkable, except for the fact that if someone is doing it for the money it will do it also under the political pressure. So, the Prosecutor’s Office, which is subject to political pressures, simply cannot be a professional.
If there will be new elections, will you be a candidate for MP?
I do not know. That depends on the people who will create the Serbian List or a similar organization. But the SDP has its place and it cannot be deleted. As such, SDP will mean a lot for the development of free political thought, among the Kosovo Serbs.
What significance will have Community of Serbian municipalities (ZSO) and whether it is another scam for Serbs in Kosovo?
From the beginning, a Community of Serbian municipality for me was a big enigma in the sense I did not know what it should present. What I now see is that the idea is stopped, because of the failure to form institutions in Pristina.
Which good and bad things Brussels agreement gave to the Serbian community in Kosovo?
It is good that negotiations started, so there will be no more conflicts. As you can see these latest incidents show that even the Brussels Agreement, as such, is not a guarantee. But what is important is that international factors can now pressure Pristina, because prior in direct contact pressures were not giving some effects. What is bad is that public was not ready for the Brussels Agreement. The public in Kosovo should be prepared for such things. It’s not good for the public to get acquainted with the decisions, when they are already brought. What is required is an active role of the Kosovo Serbs in preparing solutions in the negotiation process, and then it will be fewer problems in the implementation process.
