Serbia’s Minister of Public Administration and Local Self-Government, Snežana Paunović, who recently sparked widespread condemnation after stating that she would have “ethnically cleansed Kosovo” had she been in power in 1998, has also been linked to a series of corruption affairs.
According to Serbian media reports, Paunović received approximately €12,000 from the Serbian Parliament’s budget as reimbursement for travel expenses on the Peja–Belgrade route, based on her officially registered address in Peja. However, investigations later revealed that she had been living with her family in Belgrade for years, while maintaining her Peja address solely to claim public travel reimbursements.
Ironically, the trips for which she allegedly claimed state funds would no longer be possible today. Following her controversial remarks advocating the ethnic cleansing of Kosovo, Kosovo authorities declared Paunović persona non grata, permanently banning her from entering or transiting through Kosovo.
In addition to the travel reimbursement affair, the Center for Investigative Journalism of Serbia (CINS) previously reported that Paunović was among the members of parliament who cost Serbian taxpayers the most in travel reimbursements. The investigations also found that she had repeatedly violated Serbia’s laws on asset declaration and conflict of interest, adding to the corruption-related controversies surrounding her public office.
The latest scandal erupted after Paunović declared during an interview on Kurir TV that, had she been in power in the late 1990s, she would have “ethnically cleansed Kosovo.” The statement drew widespread condemnation from Serbia’s opposition, civil society organizations, Kosovo’s institutions, and officials from the European Union.
Rather than retracting her remarks, Paunović defended her position, insisting that she remained committed to the policies of the Socialist Party of Serbia (SPS) and claiming that her comments had been misinterpreted. However, she did not deny the substance of her statement, further intensifying criticism both domestically and internationally.
Source: Nova.rs
