Izvješće koje je Glas Amerike objavio sa svjedočenja glavne tužiteljice Carle del Ponte u američkom Kongresu izazvalo je burne reakcije u Hrvatskoj. Gospođa del Ponte je u dijelu svog iskaza govorila i o Hrvatskoj i rekla da Vlada u Zagrebu zna gdje se nalazi haaški optuženik Ante Gotovina, ali da ga iz političkih razloga ne želi uhititi.
Tu njenu izjavu prenijela je većina hrvatskih medija, reagirali su najviši Vladini dužnosnici, dok je sama gospođa del Ponte danas u Beogradu izjavila da je njezina izjava "krivo interpretirana".
Hrvatska redakcija Glasa Amerike ponovno je pregledala prijepis svjedočenja gospođe del Ponte u Kongresu i utvrdila da su riječi glavne tužiteljice vjerno prenesene u izvješću koje je emitirano u našim emisijama. Njezine riječi nisu ni na koji način "interpretirane". Kao što se vidi iz priloženog engleskog izvornika, Carla del Ponte je izjavila o Anti Gotovini sljedeće:
...Moram reći kako se nadam da će Hrvatska sad osigurati njegovo (Gotovinino) uhićenje, jer nije čak ni pitanje da ga se locira, već je pitanje da se izvrši uhićenje. Jer oni znaju, oni znaju gdje se on nalazi."
Dio izvješća na engleskom u kojem se nalazi spomenuti odlomak:
SMITH: I appreciate that, that's very, very helpful. Let me just ask the Croatian cooperation, in Zagreb, recently you indicated that there seemed to be some cooperation there. Could you elaborate on what your sense of...
DEL PONTE: With Croatia is going better. With Croatia after the initial, as usual, an initial fight, but I must say the importance that Croatia is now much more willing to cooperate with us. It's the request of Croatia to enter in European Union.
And so, of course, it is one of the elements to be admitted to, not to hide war criminals, not to obstruct our work. But although with Croatia we're on the point of arresting a fugitive, Gotovina, former General Gotovina.
Gotovina is like the Mladic in Serbia, it's like Karadzic in Bosnia-Herzegovina. So we have these three fugitives that must be arrested and tried. And we are insisting, I am insisted by the Prime Minister Racan about the arrest of Gotovina.
Of course, we don't know where he is, and it is strange because the office of the prosecutor know where he is, but not the government of Croatia.
So we share our information, we insist on the location of these fugitives. (Kliknite podvučeni tekst kako biste dobili zvučni zapis izjave Carle del Ponte:)
But, obviously, politically, because it's always the politic who is interfering in our activity, because he is considered to be a hero in Croatia from some part of the population, and that is the reason why.
And I don't know, I have no justification, but I don't know why it's also difficult to have access, although in Croatia, to documents pertaining to the military, to the army.
We insist that is what we are doing, but of course it is important that the international community stay and support us, pressuring the cooperation with us.