ICTY Chief Prosecutor Carla Del Ponte met with Javier Solana and called upon the EU and the international community to give clear views on whether or not to continue pursuing Karadzic and Mladic. “If this is no longer a priority,” Del Ponte said, “let me know, so that we do not waste any more time and money…"


ICTY Chief Prosecutor Carla Del Ponte called upon the EU and the international community to give clear views on whether or not to continue pursuing Karadzic and Mladic. "If this is not necessary, if it is no longer a priority, then let me know, so that we do not waste time or incur unnecessary costs". That, she added, would "be a bad message".

Meeting the press after her talks with Javier Solana Del Ponte expressed her hope that "the European Union will continue to press for full cooperation as it was the only thing that led to 90 percent of the arrests of war crime indictees. I’m very grateful for that ".

Although she doesn’t feel “betrayed by the international community", chief prosecutor says she is “concerned about the actions of some of European politicians, for instance, the Slovenian Foreign Minister Rupel". In an interview to the European Voice, a Brussels newspaper, he said that the arrest and transfer of Karadzic and Mladic to The Hague was not a sine qua non for the continuation of the negotiations between Serbia and the EU. "Kostunica realized he didn’t have to do anything, and yet he got everything he wanted. He didn't move his finger for Mladic and got the go-ahead for Serbia to participate in NATO-run Partnership for Peace. It was clear to him that the negotiations would continue regardless of anything. It's okay if he just kept on sitting on his chair", Del Ponte stated somewhat ironically. She announced she would be visiting Italy, Spain and Austria. Austria agrees with Slovenia that at this stage Belgrade should be cut some slack on the issue of full cooperation with the Tribunal. "Belgrade lacks political will, the politicians think the Tribunal’s work is drawing to its end, let's keep it up like this a little longer, and when it closes down, the conditions will disappear too"…

Asked what if Karadzic and Mladic are not in the UN Detention Unit by September, when her term of office ends, Del Ponte responded: "Personally, for me this would be terrible, a deep professional disappointment. I prefer not to even think about it. I don't want to presume they will not end up in The Hague".

The Chief Prosecutor appeared alone at the press opportunity today. Javier Solana, EU security commissioner, was busy and Oli Rehn, EU enlargement commissioner, was away on urgent business. Solana's spokesperson addressed the reporters but refused to give a clear answer to the question whether Serbia's full cooperation with the Tribunal remained a condition for the continuation of the negotiations. "Full cooperation is important,” she said, but avoided confirming it was “a condition” for it.

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