Serbian minister's Kosovo ethnic cleansing remarks draw condemnation, calls for dismissal

Serbia's Working Group for Chapter 35 of the National Convention on the European Union has strongly condemned a statement made by Minister of Public Administration and Local Self-Government, Snežana Paunović. Paunović, a member of the Socialist Party of Serbia, declared on TV Kurir that if she had been in Slobodan Milošević's position in 1998, she would have ethnically cleansed Kosovo.

The Working Group described Paunović's remarks as hate speech, arguing they demonstrate that "guardians of Slobodan Milošević's criminal ideas" remain in power in Serbia. These ideas, the group stated, led to mass suffering, the bombing and destruction of the country, numerous international and domestic war crime convictions, the loss of control over Kosovo and Metohija, and lasting damage to Serbia's international reputation.

In response to the controversial statement, the Working Group issued a call to action. They urged Prime Minister Đura Macut to immediately dismiss Snežana Paunović from her ministerial post. Additionally, they called upon Ivica Dačić, the leader of the Socialist Party of Serbia, to publicly distance himself from Paunović's statement and expel her from the party, asserting that her remarks make her unfit for public office.