The Hague: Serbia must do more

Hague Tribunal Chief Prosecutor Serge Brammertz is not satisfied with Serbia’s cooperation regarding Ratko Mladić and Goran Hadžić.

He said that Belgrade must try harder to locate and arrest them.

“Regarding the search for the fugitives, we’re not pleased and it is necessary to do more,” he told the press.

Stressing that his associates had regular two-week meetings with Serbian officials about the issue, Brammertz said that “situation is far from perfect”.

He added that he had expressed “serious concern” over weaknesses in the investigation in his last report to the UN Security Council last June and that problems were “rhythm and extension of the investigation, techniques that are implemented”.

“We are not completely satisfied that our recommendations have been implemented… But our talks are under way,” the chief prosecutor said.

He explained that there is a discrepancy between the expressed political readiness in Serbia to arrest the fugitives, about the course of the search itself and “what must be done” so it would be successful.

“This gap must be bridged”, Brammertz pointed out.

He said that it was not up to him to determine who would join the EU and when and stated that the policy of setting conditions toward Serbia and other countries of the former Yugoslavia that the EU had been conducting so far was “the most valuable tool for achieving arrests” of indictees.

The Hague prosecutor stressed that he would visit Serbia and other countries of the region and review the course of cooperation prior to submitting his next written report to the UN Security Council, likely in mid-November.