HAGUE TRIBUNAL DECLINES TO COMMENT ON GOTOVINA REPORT

ZAGREB, March 2 (Hina) - The Office of the Prosecutor of the UN war crimes tribunal in The Hague on Tuesday declined to comment on a report by the Croatian Justice Ministry on the steps that had been taken to track down fugitive general Ante Gotovina.#L# Justice Minister Vesna Skare-Ozbolt delivered a 30-page report to representatives of the Prosecutor's Office at the tribunal's office in Zagreb on Monday. Spokeswoman for the Prosecutor's Office Florence Hartmann said she could not comment on the report, adding that it was a confidential document and that only Chief Prosecutor Carla del Ponte or Croatian government officials could speak about it. Skare-Ozbolt also declined to speak of the content of the report, saying that the police and all secret services had participated in its drafting and that it was much more detailed than similar reports made by the previous government. Interior Minister Marijan Mlinaric told reporters that the data gathered by the police and secret services showed that Gotovina was not hiding in Croatia. Hartmann dismissed as incorrect reports carried by some Croatian media that Del Ponte would submit a report to the UN Security Council in March. Those media reports are not correct. There will be no report to the Security Council in March, the spokeswoman said, adding that a regular report on the work of the Prosecutor's Office and cooperation with the countries concerned was submitted once a year, usually in autumn. Hartmann said that an amended indictment against Gotovina, which the chief prosecutor forwarded to the relevant judge in mid-February for confirmation, had not yet been confirmed. The initial indictment charged Gotovina with crimes against humanity and war crimes committed against Serb civilians in an area under his command during and after Operation Storm in 1995. Gotovina has been on the run since the indictment was issued in July 2001. (Hina) vm sb