Del Ponte expressed satisfaction with a decision of the National Council for Cooperation with the ICTY which on Friday declassified documents requested by the ICTY and exempt 29 witnesses from keeping a state secret.
Del Ponte said she expected the authorities in Belgrade to fully cooperate with the tribunal which meant arresting ICTY fugitives and enabling access to documents and witnesses. The National Council made a good decision on Friday and now it is up to the government to implement this decision, del Ponte said. She said she would address the issue of arresting ICTY indictees at talks with Serbian Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica.
The arrest and transfer of ICTY indictees is within the jurisdiction of the Serbian police and government, the chief war crimes prosecutor said and added that the authorities in Belgrade had not convinced her that Mladic was not in Serbia.
We did not talks about Mladic's whereabouts, she said. I am personally convinced that he is still in Serbia and nobody has convinced me otherwise, del Ponte said after talks with Draskovic. She said she was glad she found a friend and an ally in minister Draskovic who said he entirely agreed that all indictees be extradited to the Hague tribunal.
Del Ponte also held talks with Serbian President Boris Tadic. Later today she is scheduled to meet the president of Serbia and Montenegro, Svetozar Marovic and Serbian Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica. A press release will be issued after those talks,
Belgrade's Blic daily reported on Monday that an ICTY indictee, General Vladimir Lazarevic, would most probably be sent to early retirement during the next session of the Serbia and Montenegro Supreme Defence Council. Neither Lazarevic nor General Nebojsa Pavkovic have responded to a summons by the Belgrade District Court to collect their ICTY indictments. The Serbian Interior Ministry issued warrants for their arrests, as well as for the arrest of General Vlastimir Djordjevic, who is allegedly in Russia.
Police General Sreten Lukic collected his ICTY indictement last week. He is not in detention but is under "a formal supervision" of the authorities,
All four generals have been indicted for war crimes in Kosovo in 1999.