Del Ponte: Vatican sheltering Gotovina

The UN's chief prosecutor for former Yugoslavia has accused the Vatican of sheltering wanted war criminal General Ante Gotovina.

Carla del Ponte said yesterday that she believed Gotovina - an indicted war criminal - was in a Franciscan monastery in Croatia.

In an interview with The Daily Telegraph, del Ponte said the Vatican could probably track down Gotovina "in a few days" to one of Croatia's 80 monasteries, but her attempts to find intelligence had been met with a wall of silence from Vatican officials.

"I have information he is hiding in a Franciscan monastery and so the Catholic Church is protecting him. I have taken this up with the Vatican and the Vatican refuses totally to co-operate with us," she told the paper.

Gotovina is wanted by The Hague for crimes against humanity and war crimes, including the murder of at least 150 Serbs during Croatia' 1991-5 war.

In 2004 Croatia was given 'candidate' status ahead of EU entry negotiations, but Zagreb’s accession bid was put on ice in March after Europe’s capitals were unconvinced by Zagreb's efforts to hunt down Gotovina.

EU foreign ministers - led by Britain - stated that talks could begin when Croatia demonstrates its “full cooperation” with the UN war crimes tribunal in The Hague by handing over Gotovina.

 

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