ROME, Feb 21 (Hina) - The chief prosecutor of the U.N. war crimes tribunal for the former Yugoslavia in The Hague has voiced concern about prospects of cooperation with the new Serbian government, which is supported by indictee
Slobodan Milosevic's Socialist Party of Serbia.
ROME, Feb 21 (Hina) - The chief prosecutor of the U.N. war crimes
tribunal for the former Yugoslavia in The Hague has voiced concern
about prospects of cooperation with the new Serbian government, which
is supported by indictee Slobodan Milosevic's Socialist Party of
Serbia.#L#
"We are not concealing our concern even though relations with Belgrade
have been frozen for months," Carla del Ponte said in an interview
with the Italian newspaper Corriere della sera of Saturday commenting
on the formation of Serbia's new government with the support of
Milosevic's party.
There is no cooperation with Belgrade, where former Bosnian Serb
leaders Radovan Karadzic and Ratko Mladic are called "their heroes",
she said, but added that "if there is a will, cooperation will take
place, regardless of who is in the government".
Speaking of the New York Times' comment that by constantly repeating
that the Serbs did not want to surrender Karadzic and Mladic she was
making the moment of their arrest more unlikely, del Ponte said that
was "ridiculous".
"That's ridiculous. I've been saying that after the failed attempts to
arrest them. Mine is a cry for help, like when I found out that
Karadzic was in Belgrade two weeks ago."
Asked if she had notified Belgrade of that, del Ponte said she had
been informed of that by those who could have arrested him.
The Hague tribunal's Office of the Prosecutor is looking for 21
persons, including Karadzic, Mladic and Croatian Army General Ante
Gotovina, del Ponte said, adding that "there's time until the end of
2004 to issue indictments. The important fugitives will have to be in
The Hague by that date or I won't be able to prosecute them".
Speaking of the Milosevic trial, the chief prosecutor said she
expected him to show his cards during the forthcoming presentation of
his defence. She added he had a certain advantage since "he was
personally present to events (described in the indictment), while we
had to study notes".
Del Ponte said she had intended to call more witnesses to testify
against Milosevic but that they had refused. "It takes courage to
testify, and not everybody has it," she said.
(Hina) ha