DACIC DEFENDS MINISTER PAUNOVIC: “The statement was taken out of context, Serbs are victims of ethnic cleansing”!

The Minister of Police and President of the SPS, Ivica Dačić, came to the defense of the Minister of State Administration and Local Self-Government, Snežana Paunović, after the stormy reactions caused by her scandalous statement that she “would have ethnically cleansed Kosovo and Metohija.”

Dačić assessed that the criticisms directed at Paunović were “shameful and hypocritical,” claiming that the very same people accusing her of allegedly calling for ethnic cleansing have been silent for years about what he stated was the ethnic cleansing of Serbs from Kosovo.

“I want to say that it is shameful that from the side of domestic politicians, I have not heard even once words condemning the ethnic cleansing of Serbs from Kosovo and Metohija. Under conditions where even today we have the forced emigration of Serbs from Kosovo and Metohija, the changing of the ethnic structure, not to mention centuries-old pressures, migrations, and the expulsion of Serbs from Kosovo and Metohija, people in Serbia still speak to this day and accuse us of alleged ethnic cleansing in Kosovo and Metohija,” Dačić said.

He stated that around 240,000 Serbs were expelled from Kosovo and Metohija in 1999, while, as he claims, less than 10,000 returned.

“And now Snežana Paunović is to blame for ethnic cleansing? Shame on you! She said that all those who do not feel Serbia should return to their mother country, the state of Albania. What kind of ethnic cleansing is that where today there are fewer Serbs than there are Albanians?” Dačić said.

He added that “the only truth is that the ethnic cleansing of Serbs from their centuries-old homeland was carried out in Kosovo and Metohija.”

What did Snežana Paunović say?

As a reminder, Minister Snežana Paunović caused sharp reactions after she stated, during a guest appearance on Kurir television, that if she had been in power in 1998, she “would have ethnically cleansed Kosovo and Metohija.”

Afterward, she claimed that her statement was taken out of context and that she was not calling for ethnic cleansing, but rather speaking about how Albanians who “do not feel Serbia as their state” should go to Albania.

Her words caused stormy reactions from the opposition, civil society organizations, and also the European Commission, which said that they condemn any speech that incites ethnic hatred or intolerance and reminded that Serbia, as a candidate country for membership in the European Union, is expected to respect European values and standards.