Serbian Public Administration Minister Snežana Paunović has appeared in a video singing alongside Serbian Interior Minister and Socialist Party of Serbia (SPS) leader Ivica Dačić, weeks after her controversial remarks about Kosovo triggered criticism in Serbia, Kosovo and the European Union.
The video, published on Instagram, shows Paunović and Dačić singing together at a social gathering while a band performs in the background. The footage also includes Serbian national symbols.
The appearance comes after Paunović caused controversy on July 11 when, during an interview with Serbian broadcaster Kurir, she said that if she had been in the position of then-Yugoslav President Slobodan Milošević in 1998, she would have “ethnically cleansed” Kosovo. She later said that “ethnic cleansing” was an unfortunate term and that she would have used “deportation” instead.
Paunović also said she was referring to the removal of people who did not consider themselves residents of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and maintained that she was not referring to killings. Her comments nevertheless prompted condemnation from the European Union and reactions across the region.
The European Commission said there was “no place in Europe” for rhetoric that justifies or advocates ethnic cleansing, and said such statements were inconsistent with Serbia’s commitments under the EU-facilitated dialogue on the normalization of relations with Kosovo.
Dačić, a senior SPS official and Paunović’s party colleague, defended her following the controversy. He described criticism of Paunović as “shameful and hypocritical” and argued that those condemning her remarks had failed to address what he described as the displacement of Serbs from Kosovo.
The new video has renewed attention to the two officials’ public positions on Kosovo, particularly because of Dačić’s earlier defense of Paunović following her remarks.
The footage itself does not establish whether the performance was intended as a political statement. Its publication, however, has prompted renewed discussion online about the political messaging surrounding Kosovo within Serbia’s governing circles.
