Key facts
- Kosovo has declared Serbian Minister Snezana Paunovic a permanent persona non grata.
- Paunovic stated that if she had been in charge during the Kosovo war, she would have ethnically cleansed Kosovo.
- The remarks were made during a TV interview and sparked anger in Kosovo.
- EU enlargement commissioner Marta Kos condemned the rhetoric.
Kosovo's interior minister announced on Tuesday that Serbian Minister Snezana Paunovic has been declared a permanent persona non grata. This action follows Paunovic's remarks made a day earlier, stating that if she had been a leader during the Kosovo war, she would have ethnically cleansed Kosovo. The comments, made during a TV interview, have ignited anger in Kosovo and drawn condemnation from European Union officials.
During the late 1990s insurgency, which took place when Kosovo was a province of Serbia under President Slobodan Milosevic, an estimated 13,000 people, predominantly Kosovo Albanians, died as Serbian forces violently suppressed ethnic Albanians. Paunovic's specific statement was, "If I were Slobodan Milosevic, I would have ethnically cleansed Kosovo in 1998 and this is the harshest qualification I have ever said."
Milosevic, who died in 2006 while on trial for war crimes including genocide, led the crackdown that ended in June 1999 after a 78-day NATO air campaign against Serbian targets. Kosovo declared its independence in 2008 and is recognized by over 110 countries, though not by Serbia. The population of Kosovo is over 90% ethnic Albanian, with ethnic Serbs comprising about 5%; Paunovic herself was born in Kosovo.
EU enlargement commissioner Marta Kos condemned the remarks, stating, "There is no place in Europe for rhetoric that justifies, advocates and glorifies ethnic cleansing."