Posted on 01/30/2007 11:39:04 AM PST by Bokababe
The Hague, 30 Jan. (AKI) - The chief prosecutor of the United Nations' war crimes tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, Carla Del Ponte, who turns 60 next month, said on Tuesday she would leave the post in September after serving two four-year terms. "I’m leaving the post of prosecutor in September after having served for eight years," she said. "I think it is the right time to leave," she added.
"My wish is that by that time Radovan Karadzic and Ratko Mladic wind up in the Hague and I will work on it. I hope to leave the Hague satisfied, not as a frustrated prosecutor,” she continued. She was referring respectively to two of the tribunal's top fugitive war crimes indictees - the wartime Bosnian Serb leader and his military commander.
Swiss-born lawyer Del Ponte told journalists in the Hague, she would like to see all the remaining six fugitive war crimes indictees, including Karadic and Mladic, arrested and handed over to the court by the time of her departure. It is due to to wrap up all trials by 2008 and all appeals by 2010, but Del Ponte said: "It is unimaginable that the tribunal would close its doors without Karadzic and Mladic, because doing so would be a mistake."
Del Ponte said that the Swiss government had asked for her to step down as long ago as March last year, following the death of former Serbian president Slobodan Milosevic, who died in his Hague jail cell before being sentenced. Milosevic was charged with war crimes and genocide during the 1990s Balkan wars. Del Ponte said Milosevic's death before his sentence was pronounced was "a great loss, great frustration and disappointment" for her.
"I think I have finished my task and that it’s time for me to return to normal life,” Del Ponte explained. Up to 150 people, mostly Serbs, have been indicted by the tribunal since in was founded in 1993, and more than 30 have been sentenced. "I think my successor will have much easier task," Del Ponte said.
Asked whether she was satisfied with her record, Del Ponte said: "If you look at what we have done over the past eight years, it’s an excellent achievement. But when I see that Karadzic and Mladic are still free, we can’t be satisfied,” she concluded. There are currently procedings running against 61 accused.
This is her:
"MY EYES!!!!!"
Just posted:
"The powerhouse is international prosecutor Carla del Ponte, a small woman with yellow hair and a deep tan who radiates purpose and determination, [...] I've no idea what her politics are"
"Karla sa mosta"
She's only 60? I know 80-year-olds who look younger than she!!!!
She resembles my moniker.....my bad!
My Dear Kangaroo Karla, one minor problem. One has to be convicted of a crime before one can be sentenced! You, my dear, are the disappointment!
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