DEL PONTE DISSATISFIED WITH EX-YUGOSLAV COUNTRIES' COOPERATION

VIENNA, Nov 4 (Hina) - Chief prosecutor Carla Del Ponte said in Vienna on Tuesday she was dissatisfied with the cooperation of former Yugoslav countries with the Hague war crimes tribunal. #L# There needs to be a bigger political will and a better cooperation with the tribunal or it will not close its doors by 2010, Del Ponte told a news conference before attending an extraordinary conference of the OSCE Permanent Council. Reporters asked if she shared German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder's opinion that the extradition of fugitive General Ante Gotovina to the U.N. tribunal should not be a condition for Croatia to join the EU, and for a comment on Schroeder's recent statement in Zagreb that he was convinced the Croatian government was unfamiliar with Gotovina's whereabouts. Del Ponte said she did not agree and that she had been very surprised by the statement. She said she would talk with Schroeder to explain that it was high time Croatia surrendered Gotovina. The chief prosecutor also said that must be a condition for Croatia to enter the EU, "otherwise we will never have Gotovina." Del Ponte said she had reliable information that it could be done. "We all agree and myself personally that Croatia must enter the European Union. But the condition must be the surrender of Gotovina." As for Serbia-Montenegro and the Bosnian Serb entity, she said that instead of cooperating they were obstructing the Hague tribunal's work. Of 21 accused on the run, seven are in Serbia, including Ratko Mladic, while Radovan Karadzic is in the Republic of Srpska, she stated. Del Ponte went on to say that Belgrade was also denying access to archives and documents important for the prosecution of crimes committed in Bosnia-Herzegovina and Croatia. She said it was very difficult to get witnesses in Kosovo because people were afraid of what might happen to their families if they testified. (hina) ha