"Gotovina cannot hide so well anywhere else as he is doing in Croatia," del Ponte was quoted by the Austrian news agency APA as saying in an interview with Austrian television broadcast in a midday news programme.
"Why would he be staying somewhere else where he would be at a greater risk?," del Ponte asked, adding that Gotovina was seen by many Croats as a hero and that he was being helped by some elements among the people and the government.
"We know that Croatia is trying to do something, but we also know that the authorities would prefer him surrendering on his own," the prosecutor said.
Zagreb's full cooperation with the tribunal, which includes the arrest and transfer of the fugitive general to The Hague, is a condition for the scheduled start of talks on Croatia's EU membership on March 17.