Addressing the UN Security Council, Del Ponte recalled that in April the Croatian government presented an Action Plan aimed at locating General Gotovina. She said that "further serious progress in the implementation of the plan should lead to Gotovina".
"Prime Minister (Ivo) Sanader assured me of his strong personal commitment in this regard. A few more months will however be needed to determine whether the Croatian authorities are, this time, indeed doing their utmost to arrest and transfer Gotovina. Until Gotovina is in The Hague, or until Croatia is providing the precise whereabouts of this fugitive, it is impossible to say, however, that Croatia is fully cooperating with the ICTY," said the UN court's prosecutor.
She said the efforts made by the authorities in the first half of this year were "neither proactive, nor focused," and that in several cases sensitive information was manipulated so as to obstruct the investigation against Gotovina and his protective network.
Del Ponte also said there had been media campaigns, "sometimes based on confidential documents leaked to the media", which tried to discredit the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia or its partners in Zagreb.
"This indicates that Gotovina can still count on active supportive networks, including within the State institutions," she said.