"Hague cooperation still not complete"

Hague Chief Prosecutor Serge Brammertz on Wednesday met with EU ambassadors to discuss the Balkan countries' cooperation with the tribunal. Brammertz told the ambassadors that while Serbia has made progress in the cooperation with The Hague-based UN war crimes court, that cooperation is still not complete. "Hague cooperation still not complete" According to EU sources that took part in the meeting today, the prosecutor said that there is "still room for more progress", and that cooperation at present is "still not complete". The Czech EU presidency believes that the meeting achieved the result that was required, "and that is to spur the debate on this issue", ahead of a meeting of EU ministers. Brussels signed the Stabilization and Association Agreement (SAA) will Belgrade in April last year, but immediately suspended its implementation pending Serbia's full cooperation with the tribunal. Earlier on Wednesday, Brammertz’s spokeswoman Olga Kavran said that the prosecutor would be answering ambassadors’ questions at the conference. Monday, February 23, will see a meeting of EU foreign ministers, where one possible topic of discussion could be the sending of a mission to Belgrade to ascertain the current state of cooperation between Serbia and the Tribunal. Meanwhile, President of the National Council for Cooperation with the Hague Tribunal Rasim Ljajic said that he expected Ratko Mladic to be located “despite his excellent hiding and great security culture.” “We are aware that Serbia has made some significant steps, but we want to wait for a final assessment on cooperation that will be given in the official report of the Hague Tribunal,” an official from the Czech Foreign Ministry said. The Czech Republic, currently presiding over the EU, and most other EU member-states believe that the Interim Trade Agreement with Serbia should be unfrozen, which is the first step for implementing the SAA. Holland is blocking the idea, calling for cooperation with the tribunal to be fully completed first. Ljajic said in Nis that he expected Brammertz to state in Brussels today that Serbia was cooperating fully with the Tribunal, but also that Ratko Mladic and Goran Hadzic had not been extradited yet. “Brammertz’s report will probably be similar to the one submitted to the UN Security Council in December,” he said. The council president said that it was unfair of Holland to make the extradition of Mladic the only way for Serbia to prove that it was cooperating. “Serbia has done everything to complete its remaining obligations and most of the obligations have been met in all the segments, and we are doing a lot better than any other country in the region in that respect,” he said, adding that he could not give more details on actions related to finding and arresting the fugitives. “I would be a real charlatan if I told you where we were at, and want kind of actions we were taking. There is nothing else you can do but believe me or not believe me,” Ljajic said. The council president added that the authorities had more information now then they had earlier and that they were working better, though it was hard to say if that was enough. “All these efforts might not bring results just when we expect them, these are things that cannot be predicted. We could not have predicted that Radovan Karadzic was Dabic, nor the way he was hiding, but it happened, and Karadzic was arrested before Mladic,” he said. Ljajic said that he was optimistic that Mladic would be extradited because the most professional people from the security services were working on solving the case and locating him. “I base my optimism also on the excellent coordination of the civil and military security services, and the evident political will and round-the-clock work operative searches for the remaining two fugitives,” Ljajic said. Serge Brammertz during a visit to Belgrade (FoNet archive)

"Hague cooperation still not complete"

According to EU sources that took part in the meeting today, the prosecutor said that there is "still room for more progress", and that cooperation at present is "still not complete".

The Czech EU presidency believes that the meeting achieved the result that was required, "and that is to spur the debate on this issue", ahead of a meeting of EU ministers.

Brussels signed the Stabilization and Association Agreement (SAA) will Belgrade in April last year, but immediately suspended its implementation pending Serbia's full cooperation with the tribunal.

Earlier on Wednesday, Brammertz’s spokeswoman Olga Kavran said that the prosecutor would be answering ambassadors’ questions at the conference.

Monday, February 23, will see a meeting of EU foreign ministers, where one possible topic of discussion could be the sending of a mission to Belgrade to ascertain the current state of cooperation between Serbia and the Tribunal.

Meanwhile, President of the National Council for Cooperation with the Hague Tribunal Rasim Ljajić said that he expected Ratko Mladić to be located “despite his excellent hiding and great security culture.”

“We are aware that Serbia has made some significant steps, but we want to wait for a final assessment on cooperation that will be given in the official report of the Hague Tribunal,” an official from the Czech Foreign Ministry said.

The Czech Republic, currently presiding over the EU, and most other EU member-states believe that the Interim Trade Agreement with Serbia should be unfrozen, which is the first step for implementing the SAA.

Holland is blocking the idea, calling for cooperation with the tribunal to be fully completed first.

Ljajić said in Niš that he expected Brammertz to state in Brussels today that Serbia was cooperating fully with the Tribunal, but also that Ratko Mladić and Goran Hadžić had not been extradited yet.

“Brammertz’s report will probably be similar to the one submitted to the UN Security Council in December,” he said.

The council president said that it was unfair of Holland to make the extradition of Mladić the only way for Serbia to prove that it was cooperating.

“Serbia has done everything to complete its remaining obligations and most of the obligations have been met in all the segments, and we are doing a lot better than any other country in the region in that respect,” he said, adding that he could not give more details on actions related to finding and arresting the fugitives.

“I would be a real charlatan if I told you where we were at, and want kind of actions we were taking. There is nothing else you can do but believe me or not believe me,” Ljajić said.

The council president added that the authorities had more information now then they had earlier and that they were working better, though it was hard to say if that was enough.

“All these efforts might not bring results just when we expect them, these are things that cannot be predicted. We could not have predicted that Radovan Karadžić was Dabić, nor the way he was hiding, but it happened, and Karadžić was arrested before Mladić,” he said.

Ljajić said that he was optimistic that Mladić would be extradited because the most professional people from the security services were working on solving the case and locating him.

“I base my optimism also on the excellent coordination of the civil and military security services, and the evident political will and round-the-clock work operative searches for the remaining two fugitives,” Ljajić said.