DEL PONTE: YUGOSLAV FEDERAL AUTHORITIES ARE HARBOURING MLADIC

ZAGREB, Nov 27 (Hina) - The Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Tribunal for former Yugoslavia (ICTY) said in New York on Tuesday cooperation with former Yugoslav states remained 'problematic' and slammed the Yugoslav federal authorities for harbouring Bosnian Serb army commander Ratko Mladic. "I regret to inform the Council that Ratko Mladic is residing in the FRY (Federal Republic of Yugoslavia) under the official protection of the Yugoslav Army," del Ponte said in her regular annual address before the UN Security Council. The continuing liberty of Radovan Karadzic and Ratko Mladic "is an affront to the authority of this Council, and mocks the entire process of international criminal justice," she said, urging the arrest of the two former Serb leaders accused of war crimes in Bosnia-Herzegovina. Unlike the Serbian government, the Yugoslav federal authorities are obstructing the work of the prosecution, including access to documents, archives and witnesses, del Ponte said. Another example of Yugoslavia's non-cooperation is the failure to hand over the three Vukovar accused indicted the Yugoslav Army continues to harbour with the approval of the federal government, she said. The Vukovar Three are Veselin Sljivancanin, Mile Mrksic and Miroslav Radic, accused of the massacre of Vukovar Croats at Ovcara near Vukovar. "The list of wanted persons sheltered in the FRY has grown longer, and instead of clear, unambiguous support to the Government of Serbia... the Federal authorities are doing everything possible to stop even limited cooperation by the Republic authorities," the ICTY Chief Prosecutor said. With regard to Croatia, del Ponte said the Tribunal had made advances in some areas together with the Croatian government but there were still some areas where progress was very slow, particularly with regard to production of documents. "I am constantly in a constructive dialogue with Zagreb. I expressed my disappointment about the non-apprehension of General Gotovina and was assured that the Government remained committed to arresting him and transferring him to The Hague. However it appears that General Gotovina has been allowed to escape arrest, and I wish to bring that unsatisfactory situation to the attention of the Council," she said, calling on Croatia to overcome any remaining obstacles and stand firm on the path of full cooperation. Commenting on the situation in Bosnia-Herzegovina, del Ponte said the most problematic issue was cooperation with Republika Srpska. She also informed the Council that the ICTY Prosecution was conducting a total of 16 investigations on the territory of former Yugoslavia, including Macedonia. Six investigations have been suspended and another ten have been identified as potentially suitable for prosecution at the national level. The ten investigations have been suspended pending a review in a year's time, she said. The active and suspended investigations include a total of 108 potential accused and an estimated 34 new indictments, del Ponte said, assessing half of the cases could be tried by national courts. The ICTY Chief Prosecutor plans to complete all of her investigations by 2004. Given that most cases refer to Bosnia-Herzegovina, del Ponte suggested the establishment of a separate tribunal in Bosnia- Herzegovina, where international and domestic judges would process crimes. The court, she said, could start operating by 2004. (hina) rml