Serbian journalist and Danas co-founder Rade Radovanović has published a detailed analysis sharply criticizing Serbian Minister Snežana Paunović after she stated that, had she been in Slobodan Milošević’s position in 1998, she would have “ethnically cleansed Kosovo.”
According to Radovanović, the statement is not merely political rhetoric, but an open endorsement of an ideology that justifies ethnic cleansing. He argues that Paunović’s comments implicitly suggest that Milošević failed to fully accomplish what she considers the regime’s “main task” — the expulsion of Albanians from Kosovo.
The analysis revisits extensively documented facts about the 1998–1999 Kosovo war. Citing historical records, Radovanović writes that Serbian police, the Yugoslav Army, and paramilitary forces forcibly expelled more than 863,000 Kosovo Albanians to North Macedonia, Albania, and Montenegro, describing it as the largest forced displacement in Europe since World War II.
He also refers to figures compiled by human rights organizations, stating that 13,535 people were killed or went missing during the conflict, including 10,812 Albanians, 2,197 Serbs, and 526 members of other communities. Among civilian victims, the analysis cites 8,676 Albanians, 1,196 Serbs, and 445 people from other ethnic groups.
Radovanović further recalls a statement made by Vojislav Šešelj before the NATO intervention, in which he allegedly declared that “if NATO attacks, no Albanians will remain in Kosovo,” arguing that the remark reflected the political strategy of the Milošević regime.
The article also highlights several documented wartime crimes, including the killings of lawyer Bajram Kelmendi and his two sons, doctor Izet Hima, lawyer Urim Rexha in Gjakova, and Professor Fehmi Agani.
It further recounts the massacres in Krusha e Madhe (Velika Kruša) and Krusha e Vogël (Mala Kruša), where women and children were forcibly expelled toward Albania while men were executed and, according to documented investigations, many bodies were burned in an attempt to conceal the crimes.
The analysis also references Operation Reka in the Gjakova region, during which more than 350 Kosovo Albanians were reportedly killed, while approximately 4,000 women, children, and elderly civilians were forced to flee into Albania.
Radovanović notes that several former Serbian generals were convicted by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) for crimes committed in Kosovo. He also recalls that Slobodan Milošević was indicted for participating in a joint criminal enterprise aimed at ethnically cleansing Kosovo, but died in 2006 before a final verdict was delivered.
In conclusion, the Serbian journalist argues that Paunović’s statement attempts to relativize and distort one of the darkest chapters of the region’s history, warning that the truth about the crimes committed in Kosovo continues to be denied or manipulated by parts of Serbia’s political establishment.
