Saturday protest devoted to slain Kosovo Serb leader

FoNet/Aleksandar Barda

The organizers of the 1 in 5 Million protest devoted this Saturday’s gathering to the assassinated Kosovo Serb opposition leader Oliver Ivanovic, playing recordings of his interviews instead of the customary speeches.

The protest march, headed by protesters carrying a banner saying There Are More Of Us, ended up in front of the St Sava temple where protesters lit candles in memory of Ivanovic, two days after a memorial service in that church was held on the anniversary of his death. That gathering was attended by Prime Minister Ana Brnabic and other state officials among others.  

Ivanovic was gunned down in front of his party offices in the divided city of Kosovska Mitrovica on January 16, 2018. Both the Serbian and Kosovo authorities have launched investigations, blaming each other for his murder and an alleged cover-up.  

The organizers of the protest decided not to allow any speeches out of respect for Ivanovic, choosing instead to play recordings of his interviews, including one in which he said: “They have done everything they could to me, the only thing they haven’t done is shoot me, but who knows, that can’t be excluded”.  

The crowd included Ivanovic’s brother Miroslav and opposition Alliance for Serbia leaders Zoran Lutovac (Democratic Party leader), Nebojsa Zelenovic (Mayor of the city of Sabac), Borko Stefanovic (Party of Freedom and Justice) and Nikola Jovanovic (People’s Party).