DEL PONTE EXPECTS KARADZIC IN THE HAGUE BY OCTOBER

SARAJEVO, April 17 (Hina) - The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia's (ICTY) Chief Prosecutor Carla del Ponte stated on Wednesday in Sarajevo that she expected Radovan Karadzic to be handed over no later than October this year. The second most wanted Hague indictee, Ratko Mladic, could be handed over virtually today, as it was just a matter of a political decision, she said. #L# Del Ponte said that she expected Karadzic in The Hague by October, when the trial against Momcilo Krajisnik and Biljana Plavsic would begin, del Ponte said during a visit to the Bosnian capital, where she met with local officials and representatives of the international community engaged in implementing the Dayton Peace Accords. Asked if the announcement of the arrival of the former Bosnian Serb leader in The Hague was just her desire or if there were concrete indications of that, Prosecutor del Ponte answered that both of those were true. She added that she had indications that she could not share with the reporters and hoped that the extradition would take place soon. Prior to this, del Ponte said that she expected the authorities in Republika Srpska to change their current attitude and finally begin fully co-operating with the Hague tribunal. The case of Ratko Mladic, del Ponte claimed, could be resolved a lot easier than that of Karadzic. The ICTY knew where Mladic was and who was protecting him, she said, adding that his extradition was a matter of a political decision and could happen any time. She confirmed that she would talk specifically about Mladic's extradition on Thursday in Belgrade, where she will meet with Yugoslav and Serbian officials. Following a meeting with del Ponte, the High Representative for Bosnia-Herzegovina, Wolfgang Petritsch, told journalists that he was considering the possibility of local courts taking over war crimes cases from the ICTY. (hina) sp sb