BELGRADE, Oct 21 (Hina) - After her talks with a senior Yugoslav official, the Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY), Carla del Ponte, expressed dissatisfaction with the level of
cooperation between the incumbent Yugoslav authorities and the Hague-based tribunal, and announced a new visit to Belgrade for next month.
BELGRADE, Oct 21 (Hina) - After her talks with a senior Yugoslav
official, the Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal
Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY), Carla del Ponte,
expressed dissatisfaction with the level of cooperation between
the incumbent Yugoslav authorities and the Hague-based tribunal,
and announced a new visit to Belgrade for next month. #L#
Carla del Ponte held talks with Yugoslav Foreign Minister Goran
Svilanovic, who is also the head of the National Council for
Cooperation with the ICTY.
After their meeting, del Ponte told reporters that ICTY officials
would next week forward a formal complaint to the UN Security
Council over Belgrade's procrastination in attempts to arrest war
crimes indictees and over the Yugoslav Army's unwillingness to make
it possible for ICTY investigators to have access to the army's
archives.
On Monday ICTY Chief Prosecutor gave Svilanovic two unsealed
indictments in relation to war crimes in Srebrenica (Bosnia-
Herzegovina), and the contents of the two indictments would be
released on the tribunal's web page later in the day.
Del Ponte also said she would not bring new indictments to Belgrade
until misunderstandings, which cropped up relating to the
contentious Article 39 of the Yugoslav law on cooperation with the
ICTY, were cleared. The disputable article stipulates cooperation
with the court only in relation to indictments issued prior to the
adoption of the said law in late 2001.
Del Ponte said she had no information about the current whereabouts
of the former Bosnian Serb war-time army commander, General Ratko
Mladic, accused of genocide.
After the meeting, Svilanovic said they had not discussed new
indictments nor possibilities of accusing the Serb Radical Party
leader, Vojislav Seselj, of war crimes.
Svilanovic added that the list of persons wanted by the ICTY
included another 13 indictees.
"When the Hague-based tribunal sends a report to the UN Security
Council, it will be an opportunity for our government to show
details about the cooperation, not only with regard to indictees
but also with regard to witnesses, given that a great number of them
have already been freed from keeping state or military secrets,"
Svilanovic said.
The Foreign Minister added that the Yugoslav authorities would
continue cooperating with the tribunal and encourage all those who
would like to testify before that tribunal to take the witness
stand.
(hina) ms sb