Tracking War Criminals.(Carla del Ponte)(Brief Article)

Carla del Ponte has been chief prosecutor of The Hague tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda since 1999. Her determination, her record and her no-nonsense style have won her respect in Western capitals but caused run-ins with Yugoslav President Vojislav Kostunica. In Washington for her first meeting with Bush administration officials last week, she talked about The Hague, war crimes and Slobodan Milosevic with NEWSWEEK's Roy Gutman and Daniel Klaidman. Excerpts:

NEWSWEEK: How do you understand the very different attitude in Washington toward the two tribunals you head and the international criminal court the United Nations is trying to establish?

DEL PONTE: I think the most important difference is that the Yugoslav tribunal [and] the Rwanda tribunal will not have jurisdiction over American citizens.

Americans are happy to have justice so long as it doesn't apply to us?

It seems so.

How is cooperation with the new government in Yugoslavia?

Until the end of March, with the problems of certification [of U.S. aid to Belgrade looming], we received some cooperation: the transfer of one fugitive, the voluntary surrender of another, even the arrest of Milosevic... But after they obtained that certification, nothing.