A formal request for the dismissal of the Minister of Public Administration and Local Self-Government, Snezana Paunovic, was officially submitted on Thursday following her statements regarding the ethnic cleansing of Albanians in the 1990s, Albanian MP in the Serbian Parliament Shaip Kamberi announced.
The initiative was launched by the parliamentary group of the Movement of Free Citizens – SDA of Sandzak and the Party for Democratic Action, and was also supported by other opposition MPs.
“The Prime Minister has a political and institutional responsibility to react and prove that there is no place in the Government of Serbia for a minister who advocates the expulsion of people based on their ethnic affiliation and promotes actions outside the law and judicial procedures,” Kamberi wrote.
Kamberi said that if Prime Minister Duro Macut refuses to propose her dismissal, he will bear responsibility for allowing her mandate to continue and for normalizing such a policy within the Serbian Government.
“Unfortunately, our initiative was not supported by the national minority parties that are part of the government. The dismissal of Minister Paunovic was not supported by Zukorlic’s Bosniak party, Ljajic’s Bosniak party, nor Pastor’s Hungarian party.”
As reported by KosovaPress, Paunovic stated on Saturday in an interview with Serbian television “Kurir” that if she had had the same freedom of action as Slobodan Milosevic had in 1999, she would have “ethnically cleansed Kosovo.”
Her statements triggered reactions in Kosovo, the region, and the European Union.
Kosovo’s acting minister Andin Hoti reacted by comparing her with former Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic, saying that any attempt at ethnic cleansing in Kosovo would have ended the same way.
According to Hoti, anyone calling for ethnic cleansing represents not only a threat to Kosovo but also shows that Serbia has still not distanced itself from what he called “Milosevic’s genocidal ideology” and from the policies that brought wars, massacres, and “historical shame.”
The Institute for Crimes Committed During the War (IKKL) also reacted, saying that the Serbian minister’s statement revives the discourse linked to the policies responsible for the war, ethnic cleansing, and crimes against humanity in Kosovo.
According to IKKL, crimes committed during 1998–1999 were addressed in international judicial proceedings, where senior political, military, and police officials of Milosevic’s regime were found guilty. The institute said that confronting the past, acknowledging crimes, and institutional apologies remain necessary for building trust and lasting peace in the region.
Meanwhile, the Serbian opposition has called for Paunovic’s dismissal.
The Movement of Free Citizens (PSG), an opposition party in Serbia, demanded her immediate removal, describing her statement as hate speech and open support for persecution based on ethnicity.
According to PSG, an official who justifies the expulsion of people because of their nationality cannot serve in the Government of Serbia. The party said the statement is even more concerning because it came from the minister responsible for public administration and local self-government, an institution that should guarantee equal treatment for all citizens and uphold the Constitution and laws.
