Serbian Minister Defends Kosovo Remark, Cites 'Mistakes' and Party Loyalty

Serbian Minister of Public Administration and Local Self-Government, Snežana Paunović, has issued a statement addressing the intense public reaction to her comment that she would have ethnically cleansed Kosovo in 1998 if she had been Slobodan Milošević. Paunović, a functionary of the Socialist Party of Serbia (SPS), asserted that she does not renounce her party's policies or the strategies adopted during the armed rebellion of the 1990s. However, she also defended her right to discuss "mistakes that we made, as well as to analyze what could possibly have been different."

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if I had been Slobodan Milošević, I would have ethnically cleansed Kosovo in '98. And this is the harshest qualification I have ever made in my life.

Paunović's controversial remark, made in an interview with TV Kurir on July 11, stated: "And now, about our shortcomings and our stupidity: if I had been Slobodan Milošević, I would have ethnically cleansed Kosovo in '98. And this is the harshest qualification I have ever made in my life." The statement drew sharp criticism from a segment of the public, with numerous opposition figures demanding her dismissal. Paunović, who was born in Peć, Kosovo, argued that propaganda has been created around her statement, leading to misinterpretations of her views on the SPS's policies in the 1990s.

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I do not renounce my party's policies, the strategies that were chosen for the circumstances of armed rebellion.

In her clarification, Paunović reiterated her support for the SPS, describing it as a party that "led Serbia in unimaginably difficult historical circumstances, a party that made great sacrifices, a party whose name was most often mentioned in The Hague, a party that did not beg anyone for anything to remain upright and true to its ideas." She maintained that she does not disavow the party's strategies chosen for the conditions of an armed rebellion on Serbian territory. Simultaneously, she insisted on her right to speak about the party's errors and to analyze potential alternative paths.

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At the same time, I do not renounce my right to speak about the mistakes that we made, as well as to analyze what could possibly have been different.

Paunović views the controversy as an opportunity for dialogue with those who hold different perspectives, particularly those who believe she should not express a positive stance on the SPS's policies of the 1990s. "I can. And I have. Because I am a socialist who speaks the truth that many fear and presents facts that others would like to deny," she declared. The statement implicitly references the war crimes trials at The Hague, where Slobodan Milošević was tried for alleged ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity during the Kosovo conflict, though his trial concluded with his death before a verdict.

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I am a socialist who speaks the truth that many fear and presents facts that others would like to deny.