Del Ponte Urges Serbia To Hand Over Fugitives

5 October 2004 -- Carla Del Ponte, chief prosecutor of the UN war crimes tribunal in The Hague, has urged Serbia to hand fugitives over before she reports back to the UN Security Council at the end of November.

Del Ponte again left Belgrade with no firm promise to deliver top fugitive Ratko Mladic -- the former Bosnian Serb army commander she believes is hiding there with the knowledge and protection of some in government, or people under its authority.

While Serbian President Boris Tadic and Serbia and Montenegro's Foreign Minister Vuk Draskovic told her there were no conditions for Serbia's cooperation with The Hague, Serbian Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica said cooperation must take "political stability" into account.

(Reuters)