Kosovo Declares Serbian Minister “Non Grata”: Enough With the Language of Ethnic Cleansing

Kosovo’s acting Minister of Internal Affairs, Xhelal Sveçla, announced that Snezhana Paunoviq, Serbia’s Minister of Public Administration and Local Self-Government, has been declared persona non grata and permanently banned from entering or staying in Kosovo.

The measure came after Paunoviq stated several days ago that she would have carried out ethnic cleansing in Kosovo during 1998.

Sveçla stressed that such statements show that Serbia remains tied to the ideology of ethnic cleansing against Albanians, also referring to the period of former president Slobodan Milošević. He added that Kosovo’s institutions would respond decisively to any threat affecting the country’s security, sovereignty and constitutional order.

Political analyst Artan Nimani described the decision as fair and necessary. In a statement to “Bota sot,” he said that remarks justifying ethnic cleansing are not merely political provocations, but constitute a threat to peace and coexistence.

Nimani added that Kosovo, as a sovereign state, has not only the right but also the obligation to defend its dignity and its citizens, calling on society as a whole to raise its voice against narratives that seek to relativise the crimes of the past.

“This measure is deserved and necessary. It is now time to put a definitive end to the rhetoric and political mentality that views Kosovo through the lens of the 1990s and seeks to justify the crimes of ethnic cleansing. Such words are not merely political provocations; they strike at the foundations upon which peace and coexistence have been built. As a sovereign state, Kosovo has not only the right, but also the obligation to preserve its state dignity and its citizens. In this context, silence must not be the position of politics. Society as a whole, including academia, the media and institutions, must speak out against this dangerous discourse, which seeks to diminish the suffering of the past and endanger our future. In the face of hatred and denial, our response must be unequivocal: unwavering defence of the state, historical truth and democratic principles,” he told “Bota sot.”