Following is the full text of a letter Del Ponte sent on Tuesday to Luxembourg's Foreign Minister and chair of the EU Council of Ministers, Jean Asselborn. The letter was circulated to EU member-countries as carried by Reuters:
"As a supplement to my letter of Feb. 11, I wish to let you know that no new information has reached me since then that would cause me to modify my assessment of Croatia's cooperation with the ICTY.
"Despite all public and private assurances from Zagreb, (indicted war crimes suspect General) Ante Gotovina remains within reach of the Croatian authorities, and until such time as he is brought to The Hague, it cannot be said that Croatia is cooperating fully with the international tribunal.
"Although no comprehensive report was provided to me by the Croatian authorities in the relevant period, I am aware of some steps taken by the Croatian authorities, for instance with regard to Gotovina's assets, targeting some support network(s) and fuller engagement of all the leadership in this effort.
"It seems to me that these steps come late, are of marginal value and can hardly change the issues raised in my assessment of Feb. 11.
"Assurances given by the Croatian authorities in the last couple of weeks that finally all institutions and services are fully engaged and have redoubled their efforts clearly prove that until recently they were not doing their utmost, and, as I have stated before, hoped for the voluntary surrender of the
accused.
"In the meantime, I received new information proving not only that (intelligence) operations were ongoing against ICTY staff in the past but also as late as in March 2004 and maybe even later.
"The top leadership of the country was fully aware of these operations and did not inform me. Neither did it order them to be immediately discontinued.
"Substantial intelligence resources were used to follow ICTY staff and obstruct all efforts to locate Ante Gotovina. This information was never provided to me by the authorities.
"Very recently I received assurances from President Mesic and state prosecutor (Mladen) Bajic that such activities had been aborted.
"I also learned of some efforts made in cooperation with foreign countries. Let me stress that the Croatian authorities are the best equipped to locate and transfer Gotovina to The Hague. The possible involvement of foreign services should by no means be misused by Croatia to escape its responsibility.
"Let me express again my gratitude to you and to the Member States of the European Union for the invaluable support they provide for the ICTY, and, Excellency, my assurances of my highest consideration."