Renowned professor at Johns Hopkins University in Washington, Daniel Serwer, has reacted sharply to the statements of the Serbian Minister of State Administration and Local Self-Government, Snezhana Paunović, who stated in a television appearance that, if she had been in the position of Serbian wartime leader Slobodan Milošević, she would have "ethnically cleansed Kosovo" in 1998.
In an interview with N1 television, Serwer described the minister's statement as extremely serious and unacceptable, emphasizing that a serious institutional reaction from the Serbian leadership should be immediate.
"If Vucic had even a single part of himself that disagreed with this, he would immediately dismiss him. It is such a reprehensible statement that it is difficult to describe," Serwer declared.
According to the American professor, Paunović's failure to resign from his ministerial post shows that the issue is not just related to a personal statement, but raises questions about the broader political stance of Serbian institutions towards rhetoric related to ethnic cleansing.
The Serbian minister's statement, made during an interview on July 11 on Kurir TV, caused strong reactions in Kosovo and in the international arena.
Paunovic, who is part of the Socialist Party of Serbia once led by the former butcher of the Balkans, Slobodan Milosevic, was criticized for normalizing an idea related to crimes and mass deportations during the war in Kosovo.
Kosovo institutions have declared her persona non grata, while the Ministry of Justice has announced that it has taken legal steps against her. Criticism of her statements has also come from representatives of the European Union and the US State Department. /Telegraph/
