The organization Albanians for America has strongly condemned the statement made by Serbian government minister Snezhana Paunović, describing it as unacceptable and dangerous to peace and reconciliation in the Western Balkans.
According to the organization, in a publicly released video, Paunović stated that if she had been in the position of former Serbian President Slobodan Milošević, she would have carried out the ethnic cleansing of Kosovo.
Albanians for America said the statement is not only offensive, but also revives the rhetoric of one of the darkest periods in the Balkans’ history and expresses support for a policy that caused immense human suffering.
The organization stressed that ethnic cleansing constitutes a crime against humanity.
“The future of the Balkans cannot be built on denying victims or rehabilitating destructive ideologies. It must be built on truth, accountability, justice, and respect for human rights,” the statement reads.
The organization also recalled that during the 1999 Kosovo war, approximately one million Albanians were forcibly expelled from their homes as a result of Slobodan Milošević’s campaign, while more than 13,000 people were killed, the overwhelming majority of them Albanian civilians, including over 1,400 children.
It further noted that nearly 1,500 people remain forcibly disappeared, while their families continue to seek justice and answers about the fate of their loved ones.
According to Albanians for America, statements that glorify or justify ethnic cleansing undermine reconciliation efforts and threaten the prospects for lasting peace in the Balkans.
The organization called on democratic leaders, human rights defenders, and the international community to condemn such rhetoric clearly and unequivocally.
