Kosovo declared Serbian Minister Paunovic persona non grata due to his "ethnic cleansing" rhetoric - Last Minute

Kosovo Minister of Internal Affairs

In his statement on his social media account, Sveçla stated that Paunovic's statements once again demonstrated that Serbia "never gave up on its ethnic cleansing project against Albanians."

Stating that the discourse in question is not new, Sveçla stated that it is a continuation of state policies that have led to violence, crime and attempts to remove Albanians from the lands they live in for decades.

Sveçla pointed out that Paunovic used statements that threatened Kosovo's constitutional order and sovereignty, and emphasized that such statements should be harshly condemned by democratic states and societies.

In his post, Sveçla said, "Today, with the decision I took as the Minister of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Kosovo, I declared Snezana Paunovic persona non grata. Paunovic is banned from entering the Republic of Kosovo or transiting through the country indefinitely." he said.

Noting that the era in which Albanians were subjected to oppression, massacres and ethnic cleansing is over, Sveçla underlined that Kosovo is a sovereign and democratic state with strong institutions that protect the constitutional order, territorial integrity and security of its citizens.

"If I were (Slobodan) Milosevic, I would have subjected Kosovo to ethnic cleansing in 1998," Paunovic said in a statement to the Serbian press on July 11, the anniversary of the 1995 genocide in Bosnia and Herzegovina. He used the following expressions.

Paunovic, who made a written statement upon the reactions, claimed that there was propaganda against him and that he was making an "analysis", and continued his ugly rhetoric.

In the Kosovo War (1998-1999), which ended with NATO's land and air operation against the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, formed by Serbia and Montenegro, more than 10 thousand Kosovars, mostly Albanians, were killed, and over 1 million Kosovars from different ethnic groups were forced to leave their homes.

The Kosovo Liberation Army (UCK) was founded by Kosovo Albanians in the 1990s with the aim of opposing the Yugoslav forces and making Kosovo an independent country. Following the end of the war, the UCK was dissolved and its commanders and soldiers joined the country's newly created security institutions.

Kosovo declared its unilateral independence from Serbia on February 17, 2008, but Serbia still considers Kosovo "its own territory".