Minister Paunovic apologizes for ethnic cleansing statement

Paunovic told a pro-regime TV that she would have ethnically cleansed Kosovo in 1998 if she had been in Slobodan Milosevic’s place, sending the ethnic Albanians back to what she called their native country if they did not feel like citizens of Serbia. Her statement drew wide-spread condemnation in Belgrade, Brussels and Pristina where Internal Affairs Minister Xhelal Svecla declared her persona non grata.

Paunovic, the Minister of State Administration and Local Government apologized to President Aleksandar Vucic and Prime Minister Djuro Macut for cuasing them to be criticized through no fault of their own. Speaking on the pro-regime TV Informer on Thursday she said it was ill-intentioned that “just 7 seconds of the show” were picked up and that it was taken out of context.

“That is my story, not a statement. It’s uncomfortable to explain that this is not the policy of the president or the government,” she said.

Paunovic said she was not surprised by the criticism from the opposition and media outlets and added that she hasn’t been able to enter Kosovo for 4 years.