BELGRADE: MARTIC WILL GO TO HAGUE VOLUNTARILY - ATTORNEY

BELGRADE, April 22 (Hina) - Milan Martic, former president of the so-called "Republika Srpska Krajina", (Croatian territory formerly occupied by Serb rebels), whom the U.N. war crimes tribunal in The Hague indicted for the shelling of Zagreb in 1995, has decided to voluntarily surrender to the Hague tribunal, Martic's attorney Strahinja Kastratovic told Belgrade's Radio B92 on Monday. #L# Kastratovic read out part of a statement by his client, which says: "Since I have decided that it is in the interest of my Serb people, particularly my Krajina Serbs, to appear before the Hague tribunal within the announced and legally defined deadline, I ask you to take over my defence and report that I am willing to go to The Hague... to prove my innocence and the innocence of my people." Kastratovic said that he had handed over Martic's statement to the federal justice minister. The attorney did not say where the Hague indictee was. Following the Croatian army operation "Storm" in 1995, Martic lived in Banja Luka without hiding from Stabilisation Force troops until 1997, when the first arrests of war crimes indictees started. (hina) rml sb