AMBASSADOR DICARLO MEETS WITH THE ICTY'S CHIEF

UNCLAS USUN NEW YORK 000578 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ICTY PREL UNSC SUBJECT: AMBASSADOR DICARLO MEETS WITH THE ICTY'S CHIEF PROSECUTOR SERGE BRAMMERTZ ¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY: Serge Brammertz, the Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) met with Ambassador DiCarlo on June 2 prior to the ICTY's biannual briefing to the UN Security Council. Brammertz focused the discussion on Croatia's less than optimum (in Brammertz' view) cooperation with the ICTY and expressed his frustration that Croatia has provided little evidence in the Gotovina case. END SUMMARY. ¶2. (SBU) The Ambassador welcomed Brammertz and said that the United States supports the ICTY and Brammertz' work as its Chief Prosecutor and that the arrest of the three remaining fugitives remains a priority. She also said that the United States is has been working with the UN Security Council's Working Group that is discussing the ICTY's residual mechanism and stress the need for the ICTY to finish its work as quickly and as efficiently as possible. ¶3. (SBU) Brammertz quickly switch gears and said that Croatia is "playing games" in regard to providing the documents pertaining to the Gotovina case that the ICTY requested. According to Brammertz, Croatia is making excuses and told him that it cannot find the majority of the documents and has only submitted four of the 27 documents requested. The four documents, Brammertz said, are military training manuals and offer no new substantive information. Croatia's military admitted to Brammertz that the documents added no value. Interestingly, Brammertz said that Croatia's Minister of Justice conveyed the opposite view and that the four documents provided to the ICTY do contain applicable elements and refused to admit that the documents add no value. Brammertz said that he told Croatia's Prime Minister and Minister of Justice that he refuses to play a political role and that he simply wants the documents so that the ICTY can move forward with the Gotovina case. Raising Serbia, Brammertz said that nearly all the ICTY's requests to Serbia had been resolved. He said that Serbia is committed to looking for the fugitives and is serious about cooperating with the ICTY. RICE