Serb NGOs in Kosovo: Minister Paunovic Has Normalized Ethnic Cleansing of Kosovo

Snezana Paunovic (BETAPHOTO/MILOS MISKOV)

On July 15, Serb NGOs dedicated to protecting the rights of, improving the position of and empowering the Serb community in Kosovo accused Serbian Minister of State Administration and Local Self-Government Snezana Paunovic of justifying and normalizing the notion of ethnically cleansing Kosovo.

“We believe such statements constitute hate speech, dehumanizing rhetoric and a dangerous attempt to publicly normalize the idea of ethnic cleansing. It is particularly worrisome that such statements were made by an individual holding a high government position,” says the press release signed by the Center for Affirmative Social Action, the New Social Initiative, the Institute for Territorial Economic Development and Aktiv.
 
According to these NGOs, the Serb community in Kosovo does not need “nationalist populism or inflammatory rhetoric” but rather for Belgrade to enact responsible policies which will consistently protect the community’s interests and create conditions for Kosovo Serbs to live in peace, safety and with dignity.

“The high price of such statements is not paid by the politicians who make them but by the Serb community in Kosovo. Such narratives deepen distrust between communities and additionally undermine the position Kosovo Serbs are in, while also often serving as a justification for policies and measures limiting our community’s rights and ability to act,” the statement adds.

In a July 12 guest appearance on Kurir TV, Minister Paunovic said that, had she been in the shoes of then-president Slobodan Milosevic, she would have “ethnically cleansed Kosovo in 1998” and added this is the “harshest statement” she has made in her life.