“If I were in place of former Serbian leader Slobodan Milosevic in 1998, he would have ethnically cleansed Kosovo.”
It was this statement by the Serbian Minister for Public Administration and Local Self-Government Snezhana Paunovic that caused numerous reactions in Pristina, Belgrade and beyond, reaching as far as Brussels.
In Kosovo, Acting Minister of Justice Donika Gërvalla announced that she has submitted a criminal complaint against Paunović for inciting hatred.
“The Republic of Kosovo does not remain silent and never bows down to the language of hatred, calls for incitement to disunity and intolerance. There is no space for the glorification of ethnic cleansing, the relativization of the genocide and monstrous Serbian crimes and the spread of narratives aimed at undermining peace, security and inter-ethnic coexistence,” says the announcement published by Gërvalla.
In Belgrade, the Albanian deputy in the Assembly of Serbia, Sahip Kamberi, announced that 53 opposition deputies submitted a request to Serbian Prime Minister Gjuro Macu, according to which he should turn to the Assembly for the dismissal of Paunovic.
Kamberi emphasized that Prime Minister Macut has a political and institutional responsibility to react and prove that there is no place in the Government of Serbia for a minister who defends the idea of deporting people on the basis of their national affiliation.
After Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic distanced himself from Paunovic’s statements, the minister herself said that she apologized to him, the government and the prime minister, claiming that her statements were misinterpreted.
On Thursday, EU Enlargement Commissioner Marta Kos expressed her surprise that Snezhana Paunovic continues to be part of the government cabinet in Serbia even after speaking about ethnic cleansing in Kosovo.
“It was shocking to hear something like this in 2026,” said the senior European official, again condemning the Serbian minister’s statements.
