Serwer Calls for Vucic’s Immediate Response to Serbian Minister

Daniel Serwer, a prominent professor at Johns Hopkins University in Washington, condemned remarks made by Serbian Minister of Public Administration and Local Self-Government Snezhana Paunovic. During a television appearance, she said that if she had been in the position of wartime Serbian leader Slobodan Milosevic, she would have “ethnically cleansed Kosovo” in 1998.

Speaking to N1 television, Serwer described the position as extremely serious and unacceptable. He said Serbia’s leadership should respond without delay at the institutional level.

“If Vucic had even a single part of himself that disagreed with this, he would dismiss her immediately. It is such a reprehensible statement that it is difficult to describe,” Serwer said.

According to the American professor, the fact that Paunovic has not been removed from her ministerial post means this is not merely an individual statement. He said the situation raises questions about the broader political approach of Serbian institutions toward rhetoric linked to ethnic cleansing.

The Serbian minister made the statement on July 11 in an interview with Kurir TV, prompting strong reactions in Kosovo and internationally.

Paunovic is a member of the Socialist Party of Serbia, a party once led by the former butcher of the Balkans, Slobodan Milosevic. She was criticized for normalizing an idea associated with the crimes and mass expulsions committed during the war in Kosovo.

Kosovo’s institutions have declared Paunovic persona non grata, while the Ministry of Justice has announced that it has taken legal steps against her. Representatives of the European Union and the U.S. State Department have also voiced objections to her remarks.