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28th Mar 2024

Further blow to Croatia's EU bid

  • Carla Del Ponte to report to the United Nations' Security Council in June (Photo: European Commission)

Croatia is still not co-operating fully with the UN's International Crime Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY), the court's chief prosecutor has said.

The missing war crimes suspect, General Ante Gotovina, who has not been handed over to The Hague, is still in the country, Carla Del Ponte told journalists on Tuesday (26 April).

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He even "moves to Bosnia and Herzegovina from time to time", she added.

"There will be full co-operation [with ICTY] when Croatia will have brought Gotovina to The Hague, or indicated us the whereabouts of Gotovina", she specified.

But for the time being, "there is no change in our evaluation", the prosecutor emphasised.

Zagreb was set to start EU accession talks on 17 March, but the start of negotiations were postponed as a majority of member states were not convinced that it was co-operating fully with the court.

Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn underlined that full co-operation with ICTY is a "key part of our policy for each and every country in the Western Balkans".

Croatian authorities claim that the General is not within their reach, and that they have done all they can to find him.

Remaining unconvinced, Mrs Del Ponte said it is logical for the Croatian authorities to say General Gotovina is not in Croatia, as "Prime Minsiter Sanader probably himself does not receive all the information".

But the prosecutor is convinced Gotovina is within the reach of the Croatian authorities.

"I have contact with different intelligence services and I was provided useful information" concerning Ante Gotovina's whereabouts, Mrs Del Ponte said.

The prosecutor "hopes" that the General will "very soon" be at The Hague.

"It is my great hope that this can happen before my next report to the United Nations' Security Council, in June of this year", she specified.

Mrs Del Ponte was speaking after a meeting of the EU-Croatia task force, established on 23 March to examine the extent of Croatia's co-operation with the UN tribunal, and possibly give the country another chance to start EU talks.

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