Rama: Albania responded through the Foreign Ministry; we will not become a hysterical chorus over Belgrade’s statements

Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama recently reacted on his “X” account to the Serbian minister’s statement regarding the “ethnic cleansing of Kosovo.”

According to Rama, Albania expressed its position through the foreign minister, as a self-respecting state does. He added that anyone expecting the country to turn into a hysterical chorus every time “some fool in Belgrade comes out and talks nonsense” has come to the wrong address.

Earlier, Kosovo’s acting interior minister, Xhelal Sveqla, had called for greater engagement from Albania in response to what he described as the fascist statements of Serbian minister Snezhana Paunoviq.

Paunoviq had said that, if she were in Slobodan Milosevic’s place, “I would have ethnically cleansed Kosovo in 1998.”

In a statement to Euronews, Sveqla said Paunoviq’s rhetoric was directed against Albanians and did not affect Kosovo alone. For this reason, he said he expected a stronger response from Albania.

It is unclear whether Rama’s post is related to Sveqla’s request. Nevertheless, the Albanian head of government said that demanding every person with a public voice, every institution and authority respond to every piece of nonsense uttered in Serbian—even by people whose own families may not have known of their existence before they uttered that nonsense—shows a lack of respect for oneself and one’s country on the part of those who “raise a hue and cry” and demand to know why one person or another does not react.