Yugoslavia: Carla Del Ponte Hague briefs Chirac ahead of Belgrade visit

THE HAGUE (December 1)(1/12/2001) - Hague Chief Prosecutor Carla Del Ponte held talks with French President Jaques Chirac last night regarding Yugoslav cooperation with the Tribunal, ahead of the president's official visit to Belgrade, reported B92. "We explained the problems we're having, concerning the blocking of cooperation by the federal bodies," the prosecutor's spokeswoman Florence Hartmann told. Hartmann said that the Hague delegation discussed with Chirac problems of access to archives and personnel from the army and the federal authorities. Talks also covered tribunal claims that the Yugoslav army is "shielding" indicted Bosnian Serb military leader Ratko Mladic in Belgrade. The Yugoslav authorities have denied the accusations, insisting they know nothing of Mladic's whereabouts. Hartmann sought again to clarify the situation with regards Yugoslav army chief-of-staff Nebojsa Pavkovic and senior police chief Sreten Lukic. The spokeswoman confirmed that the prosecutor would seek from the government and ministries concerned the possibility of speaking with the two senior officials named in the pre-trial brief in the case against Slobodan Milosevic for crimes in Kosovo. Hartmann explained that both men held senior posts when the events in Kosovo occurred and as such, it is the prosecution's "responsibility to enquire about the roles of every person that held a command position." "That does not mean they'll be indicted, they are not indicted, we are examining their roles and we'll see whether there exists any kind of criminal responsibility or not," Hartmann told Television B92. bl

//Shqiptarja.com

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