The Movement of Free Citizens (PSG), an opposition force in Serbia, has demanded the immediate dismissal of Snezhana Paunović, the Minister of State Administration and Local Self-Government, after she stated that if she were in Slobodan Milošević’s place, she would have carried out “ethnic cleansing” in Kosovo in 1998.
PSG condemned the statement as hate speech and open support for persecution on ethnic grounds. According to this party, an official who justifies the expulsion of people because of their nationality cannot hold a post in the Government of Serbia. The concern, PSG emphasizes, is compounded by the fact that it comes from the minister responsible for state administration and local government, institutions that should guarantee equal treatment for all citizens and respect for the Constitution and laws.
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The opposition party also raised the issue of the minister’s possible criminal liability, referring to Article 317 of the Serbian Criminal Code, which prohibits incitement to hatred and intolerance on national, racial or religious grounds. PSG called on the competent prosecution to examine whether Paunović’s statements contain elements of this criminal offense.
Snezhana Paunović has been a member of the Socialist Party of Serbia since 1992, and since 2024 she has held the post of deputy leader of this party. She has been a member of parliament since 2013, and in two legislatures she served as deputy speaker of the National Assembly of Serbia.
Her statements have also provoked reactions in Kosovo.
Acting Minister in the Government of Kosovo, Andin Hoti, compared her to former Serbian president Slobodan Milošević and warned that any attempt at ethnic cleansing in Kosovo would end the same way. He underscored that the response of the people of Kosovo, the Kosovo Liberation Army and the democratic world is already known.
“Your ideological father, Milošević, tried the same thing in Kosovo. He ended up before international justice, while Serbia withdrew from Kosovo with its tail between its legs… Anyone who today calls for ethnic cleansing is not just a threat to Kosovo. He is proof that Serbia has still not freed itself from the genocidal ideology of Milošević and from the criminal policies that brought wars, massacres and historical shame,” Hoti wrote on Facebook.
According to him, calls for ethnic cleansing are not merely a threat to Kosovo, but show that Serbia has still not broken away from what he calls “the genocidal ideology of Milošević” and from the policies that caused wars, massacres and “historical shame”.
“Today Kosovo remained free. Milošević ended up as a war criminal and today he is dead and buried. The same fate would be yours, and it will be every time you try,” Hoti declared.
On the other hand, the Institute of Crimes Committed During the War (IKKL) also reacted, stressing that the statement of the Serbian minister brings back to attention the rhetoric linked to the policies responsible for the war, ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity in Kosovo. According to IKKL, the crimes committed during the years 1998–1999 have been dealt with in international judicial processes, where high political, military and police officials of the Milošević regime were found guilty. The Institute assesses that confronting the past, acknowledging the crimes and seeking institutional apology remain prerequisites for building trust and lasting peace in the region.
