Prosecutor: New leads in Mladić search

Vladimir Vukcevic says there are "many news" related to the hunt for Ratko Mladic, some of which "have reached the public, while others remain undisclosed". "We have not made a pause in our work for a moment," Vukcevic, the Serbian war crimes prosecutor, told the daily Vecernje Novosti. Prosecutor: New leads in Mladic search Full cooperation with the Hague Tribunal is cited as the European Union's condition for the recently signed Stabilization and Association Agreement (SAA) to in fact be implemented. The UN war crimes court based in The Hague has repeatedly said it believes Mladic, the former military leader of the Bosnian Serbs, is hiding in Serbia. Asked whether the arrest of Radovan Karadzic, another Hague fugitive, is also put before Serbia as a condition, the prosecutor said that "it would be, if Karadzic were hiding in Serbia". "However, there has not been any proof of this so far," Vukcevic said. He added that the alleged 1999 organ trafficking in Kosovo and Albania is also investigated, and that a judge has to date "interviewed more than ten witnesses". Former Chief Hague Prosecutor, now Switzerland's ambassador to Argentina, wrote in her book published recently that after the 1999 war up to 300 Kosovo Serbs were taken captive by the province's Albanians, specifically the so-called Kosovo Liberation Army, KLA. Del Ponte said that credible witnesses told her office the Serbs were then taken to Albania, to have their vital organs extracted before they were murdered. "We have sent letters to the Albanian prosecution and have requested information from the International Committee of the Red Cross and UNMIK. We are taking organized and thought-through steps and all relevant institutions are working on this," said Vukcevic, when asked what Serbia did about the allegations. He also spoke of the new chief of the Hague prosecution, Serge Brammertz, and said that "the first impressions were very positive". "He is not interested in politics," Vukcevic said of Brammertz. "He wants results and is sympathetic toward all that is happening in our region. He showed interest in all we have done so far, and was pleased with what he saw and heard."

Prosecutor: New leads in Mladić search

Full cooperation with the Hague Tribunal is cited as the European Union's condition for the recently signed Stabilization and Association Agreement (SAA) to in fact be implemented.

The UN war crimes court based in The Hague has repeatedly said it believes Mladić, the former military leader of the Bosnian Serbs, is hiding in Serbia.

Asked whether the arrest of Radovan Karadžić, another Hague fugitive, is also put before Serbia as a condition, the prosecutor said that "it would be, if Karadžić were hiding in Serbia".

"However, there has not been any proof of this so far," Vukčević said.

He added that the alleged 1999 organ trafficking in Kosovo and Albania is also investigated, and that a judge has to date "interviewed more than ten witnesses".

Former Chief Hague Prosecutor, now Switzerland's ambassador to Argentina, wrote in her book published recently that after the 1999 war up to 300 Kosovo Serbs were taken captive by the province's Albanians, specifically the so-called Kosovo Liberation Army, KLA.

Del Ponte said that credible witnesses told her office the Serbs were then taken to Albania, to have their vital organs extracted before they were murdered.

"We have sent letters to the Albanian prosecution and have requested information from the International Committee of the Red Cross and UNMIK. We are taking organized and thought-through steps and all relevant institutions are working on this," said Vukčević, when asked what Serbia did about the allegations.

He also spoke of the new chief of the Hague prosecution, Serge Brammertz, and said that "the first impressions were very positive".

"He is not interested in politics," Vukčević said of Brammertz. "He wants results and is sympathetic toward all that is happening in our region. He showed interest in all we have done so far, and was pleased with what he saw and heard."