op.ed. by Oliver Ivanovic, the leader of the Civic Initiative SDP

Huge improvisation and political pressure, along with corruption, have won again.

The strongest impression, after nine months spent in detention, completely ungrounded and without a reason, is my deep and essential disappointment in the international community.
I admit, I overestimated, myself, the developed and mighty world, and believed that the rule of law is a ‘sacred thing’ for them and that they would not allow such injustice to be carried out on their behalf. I have made a mistake.

International community, through EULEX, has deeply mired in this case when they indicted me, and now they are in situation that they can’t admit a total failure of the [rule of] law and justice. They have made a mistake.

That’s why they’ve extended my detention. And, again, huge improvisation, visible and invisible political pressure, but corruption as well, have won. There is all of it in this case, but there is no truth, justice and basic law in it. Judge, as an individual, had no power to resist to those influences and turn down the indictment, but took the case instead into the phase of the main hearing, where statements of their so called main witnesses will be heard. Entire senselessness of the case will come to the surface.

EULEX arrived to Kosovo and Metohija with huge pretensions, even with the euphoria about the goal, to bring everything in order here. Unfortunately, it appeared that not only that they can’t bring anything in order, but they can’t bring themselves in order.

As a politician I fought for EULEX to come here, I welcomed their mission because I was sure that situation was not ripe yet for direct relations between Albanians and Serbs that would make them capable to arrange the society. Now, I am sure that such compromised EULEX is not needed at all.

On the other side it is not good that UNMIK is perforated, collapsed, purposely left without a budget, in order that all skilled  staff leave the mission.

I am fully aware that this insane process against me is carried out in order to make the balance for expected arrests on the Albanian side, by having a famous name from on Serbian side. Because, the start of a special court’s work will be about dealing with the nest of corruption and organized crime in Kosovo. And, the list of suspects completely matches the one of those responsible for ethnically motivated crimes committed on 17 March [2004]. It is about the ones, till the very last name on it, who used to organize, for years back, all unrest and instability in Kosovo.

Why did they choose me to serve as a Serbian counter-balance, sort of equivalent and balance? Firstly, all persons that could be accused for crimes on the Serbian side have left Kosovo and Metohija long time ago. Secondly, I am highly-profiled as a politician, and I don’t have a party that ‘protects’ me in Belgrade. Thirdly, I am one of the ‘guilty’ ones who are to be blamed for not having Kosovska Mitrovica wiped out of Serbs, what was the goal actually. Fourthly, I am not the part of the nationalistic corpus, what was convenient for them, too.

And now, to make the absurd complete, I have to prove that I am innocent. The extent of insanity can be proved by the fact that the court requested the War Crimes Court in Belgrade to provide information over my engagement during the war, six months after I was detained. Why did they wait so long? On the other side Belgrade did everything on its side, and issued guarantees for my release pending trial. However, guarantees which were valid for Pavkovic, Lazarevic and Seselj, seems don’t exist for me.

It’s clear they are trying to break me!
I am sure that they won’t succeed in it!
All this has disturbed my life plans. It disrupted the normal life of my family too. But, we go on. The truth will win in the end.