Kosovo has declared Serbian Minister of Public Administration and Local Self-Government, Snezhana Paunovic, persona non grata, permanently banning her from entering and transiting its territory, following her statement that, if she had been in Slobodan Milosevic's place in 1998, she "would have ethnically cleansed Kosovo."
Paunović, an economist by profession, is one of the long-time figures of the Socialist Party of Serbia (SPS), the party founded by Slobodan Milošević. A member of the party since 1992, she has served as an MP for several terms, deputy speaker of the Serbian Parliament and chair of the SPS parliamentary group, and currently holds the position of Minister of Public Administration and Local Self-Government in the Serbian government.
Kosovo's acting Interior Minister, Xhelal Sveçla, announced that he had signed the decision to declare Paunovic persona non grata, emphasizing that her statements bring back the rhetoric of the ethnic cleansing project against Kosovo Albanians.
The Serbian minister’s statement came during an interview with Kurir television, where she said that if she had been in Milosevic’s place in 1998, she would have “ethnically cleansed Kosovo.” She later tried to soften the statement, claiming that it did not mean the liquidation of Albanians, but the removal of those who, according to her, did not consider themselves citizens of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.
Even after strong reactions, Paunović stated that he will not give up on the politics of the Socialist Party of Serbia, recalling that he has been part of it since 1992.
Her statements have been condemned by the European Union. European Commission spokeswoman Anitta Hipper stressed that there is no place in Europe for rhetoric that promotes or justifies ethnic cleansing, while Enlargement Commissioner Marta Kos said she was “shocked” and called for zero tolerance for such statements.
Kosovo authorities also reacted harshly. Acting Foreign Minister Glauk Konjufca said that such rhetoric glorifies war crimes and contradicts European values.
The war in Kosovo (1998–1999) left over 13,000 civilians, mostly Albanians, dead, and over 1,500 people still missing. The Hague Tribunal has deemed the then leadership of the FRY part of a joint criminal enterprise aimed at the forcible expulsion of Albanians from Kosovo.
