Del Ponte said yesterday her investigators currently had more problems in accessing documents belonging to UNMIK than anywhere else in the former Yugoslavia. She also said that former Kosovo Prime Minister Ramush Haradinaj, who was indicted by her tribunal, had privileged status in Kosovo and that the UN administration in the province encouraged the creation of a climate which dissuaded witnesses from speaking to investigators.
UNMIK said in a statement del Ponte's statements were unfounded. The Mission said it shared the concern about the need to protect witnesses, but underlined that local police had taken every measure necessary for that.
The statement said del Ponte's accusations against UNMIK regarding Haradinaj and his alleged close ties with UN civil administrator Soren Jessen-Petersen were unfounded. The Mission said the former prime minister was in no way privileged.
Similar accusations hade been made in the past but the Hague tribunal's Council rejected them in January, stating that UNMIK had elevated the issue of cooperation with the tribunal to a satisfactory level, the statement said.