Opposition parties in the Serbian city of Novi Sad called on citizens to gather on Friday evening to commemorate Oliver Ivanovic, a moderate Kosovo Serb politician assassinated eight years ago, saying justice has yet to be delivered in one of the region’s most sensitive political killings.
The vigil is scheduled to take place at Liberty Square in Novi Sad on the anniversary of Ivanovic’s killing on Jan. 16, 2018, outside his party headquarters in the ethnically divided town of Mitrovica in northern Kosovo.
Ivanovic, leader of the civic initiative “Serbia, Democracy, Justice,” was shot dead by unknown assailants in an attack that shocked Serbia and Kosovo and drew condemnation from the European Union and the United States. He was widely seen as a rare moderate voice among Kosovo Serbs and an advocate of dialogue with ethnic Albanians.
Opposition groups said in a statement that “justice has not been satisfied,” pointing to the failure of authorities in either Belgrade or Pristina to identify and prosecute those who ordered the killing.
Eight years on, responsibility for the assassination remains unresolved, despite parallel investigations conducted by Serbian and Kosovo authorities. Four people were convicted by a Kosovo court for involvement in the crime, but the alleged masterminds have not been identified, according to court documents and officials.
The case continues to fuel political disputes between Serbia and Kosovo, which declared independence from Serbia in 2008 and is recognised by most Western states but not by Belgrade. Both sides have repeatedly accused each other of obstructing the investigation.
Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic has said there is “no perfect crime” and has insisted that the truth will eventually emerge. Serbian officials, including parliamentary speaker Ana Brnabic, have accused Kosovo authorities of sabotaging the investigation, a claim denied by Pristina.
Kosovo officials, in turn, have pointed to alleged links between organised crime groups in northern Kosovo and political structures backed by Belgrade, an assertion Serbian authorities reject.
Commemorations were also held on Friday in Belgrade and Mitrovica, including a memorial service at the Church of Saint Sava attended by senior Serbian officials.
Ivanovic’s killing remains one of the most politically charged unsolved crimes in the Western Balkans and is frequently cited by opposition figures and human rights groups as emblematic of weak rule of law, political violence and unresolved tensions stemming from the Kosovo conflict of the late 1990s.