We have turned to the Vatican for help because we do not know exactly in which monastery Gotovina is hiding, and we keep getting information that there is a support network in Franciscan monasteries, the spokeswoman said.
The OTP cannot call the police to make the arrest unless it knows Gotovina's exact whereabouts, and that is why it needs the Vatican's assistance in pinpointing the monastery Gotovina could be hiding in, she added.
In its response to the request by Chief Prosecutor Carla del Ponte, the Vatican said it was not a state and thus had no international obligations to cooperate with the Hague tribunal.
We are turning to everyone for help, including the Vatican. Here we are talking about crimes against humanity and violations of international humanitarian law, an issue that concerns every individual on the planet, Hartmann said.
Hartmann said that the ICTY expected cooperation from the Vatican in order to find out where Gotovina has been hiding up to now, where he is now and where he could be in the future.
ICTY spokesman Jim Landale said the tribunal expected assistance from anyone in a position to provide it, without exception.
Hartmann said that the OTP's request to the Vatican did not differ from one sent to the Serbian Orthodox Church for assistance in arresting the two most wanted fugitives -- Bosnian Serb wartime leader Radovan Karadzic and his military commander Ratko Mladic.
There is no institution that cannot be asked to take a moral stance on justice and international law, she said.
The spokeswoman announced that the issue of arresting of the remaining seven fugitives from the Hague tribunal would be on the agenda of del Ponte's talks with top government officials in Belgrade, Zagreb and Podgorica at the end of next week.