The sole Albanian Member of the Parliament of Serbia, Shaip Kamberi, has launched a fierce institutional counteroffensive following the scandalous remarks made by State Administration Minister Snežana Paunović.
Kamberi announced that he will formally initiate a parliamentary motion for her dismissal, warning that any failure by Prime Minister Đuro Macut to sack her will be interpreted as official state endorsement of ethnic cleansing.
Kamberi’s Swift Institutional Actions
In a sharply worded public statement, Kamberi emphasized that Paunović’s remarks cannot be treated as a slip of the tongue or an isolated incident. Instead, he argued, they are the direct product of years of state-sponsored historical revisionism.
To address the escalation, Kamberi has initiated two immediate steps:
[ Shaip Kamberi's Institutional Action ]
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[ Parliament of Serbia ] [ International Community ]
Initiating a formal motion Sent official letters to all key
demanding the immediate dismissal foreign embassies in Belgrade to
of Minister Paunović from office. warn of rising government chauvinism.
“If she is not removed, silence and lack of action will be understood as an endorsement of her statement and as the official position of the entire Government. These fascist statements by government ministers show best that Milošević’s Serbia remains the same.” — Shaip Kamberi, Albanian MP in the Serbian Parliament
The Impact on the Albanians of the Preševo Valley
As the representative of the Albanian minority in southern Serbia, Kamberi stressed that such rhetoric from a high-ranking cabinet member has triggered deep anxiety and fear among minority communities.
- A Source of Deep Insecurity: Kamberi noted that when the very minister in charge of local government and minority equality speaks of ethnic cleansing, “minority communities have every right to ask what security they can expect from these state institutions.”
- Systemic Denial of Crimes: He asserted that this rhetoric is the natural byproduct of a political climate in Belgrade defined by “the systematic denial of war crimes, the glorification of convicted war criminals, the relativization of international court rulings, and historical revisionism.”
- Violation of EU Candidate Commitments: Kamberi reminded Belgrade that as a candidate country for EU membership, Serbia is legally and morally obligated to protect minority rights. Paunović’s statements are in “direct violation of these obligations and bypass every democratic standard.”
A Major Diplomatic Headache for the Ruling Coalition
Kamberi’s decision to involve the international diplomatic corps in Belgrade raises the stakes significantly. By sending official briefs to major Western embassies, he is ensuring that the scandal remains a primary talking point in Belgrade’s relations with Washington, Berlin, and Paris.
With the European Union already having formally condemned Paunović’s remarks, Prime Minister Macut’s coalition is now facing a severe test: either sacrifice Paunović to preserve international standing, or protect her to appease the nationalist core of the junior coalition partner, the Socialist Party of Serbia (SPS).
