In a submission seeking permission to withdraw her motion of February 9, Del Ponte said that the recent talks with officials in Zagreb and Belgrade had raised some questions and pointed to possible difficulties which could not have been foreseen at the time when the motion was made and a debate on referral was held on May 12.
Del Ponte said another reason for her proposal to hold the trial of the "Vukovar Three" in The Hague was the fact that in Resolution 1207 of November 17, 1998 the U.N. Security Council warned about the importance of the case and urged extraditing the accused Mile Mrksic, Veselin Sljivancanin and Miroslav Radic as soon as possible.
Considering the current situation, it is in the interests of justice that the Trial Chamber allow the withdrawal of the motion for referral and order that the case be referred to one of the Tribunal's trial chambers, Del Ponte said in her submission dated June 9.
Since February, when the motion for referral was made and the discussion on the matter was held before the tribunal on May 12, Croatia had been stating that one should consider the possibility of holding the trial of the "Vukovar Three" in The Hague due to the gravity of the crimes, the international character of the conflict and other circumstances.
Croatia's representatives in the discussion, Professor Zeljko Horvatic and Assistant Justice Minister Jaksa Muljacic, had claimed that under ICTY rules priority in referring cases should be given to the country where the crime was committed so that justice could be done as close to the victims as possible.
Colonel Mrksic, commander of the JNA 1st Guard Brigade, Major Sljivancanin, the brigade's security officer, and Captain Radic, are charged with the murder of 264 wounded persons and civilians who were removed from Vukovar Hospital and executed at the Ovcara farm outside the town on November 18, 1991, after the town fell into the hands of Serb forces.
The bodies of 200 people, including two women, have been exhumed at Ovcara.
Sixteen immediate perpetrators of the massacre, members of Serb paramilitary units and the Territorial Defence, are currently on trial before a special war crimes court in Belgrade.