TRIAL TO TWO BOSNIAN CROATS STARTS IN THE HAGUE

THE HAGUE, Sept 10 (Hina) - Evidence will show that crimes committed by the two defendants happened as part of a wider campaign of persecution and ethnic cleansing the Croatian Defence Council (HVO) carried out against Moslems in Bosnia-Herzegovina, said prosecutor Kenneth Scott in his opening speech at the trial to Mladen Naletilic Tuta and Vinko Martinovic before the Hague-based international war crimes tribunal on Monday. #L# The tribunal indicted the two Bosnian Croats for crimes the Convicts' Battalion committed in the Mostar and Jablanica areas in 1993. Naletilic was at the time the battalion's commander, and Martinovic the commanding officer of the "Mrmak" anti-terrorist unit within the battalion. Both are indicted for command and individual responsibility for crimes against humanity, heavy violation of the Geneva conventions and breeches of the law and customs of war. Again in this trial, the prosecution placed the crimes in the same political framework of the establishment of the Croat Community of Herzeg Bosnia by extremist Bosnian Croats, under the auspices of Croatia, its then president, the late Franjo Tudjman, and the former ruling Croatian Democratic Union party. According to the prosecution, the final goal of the establishment of this Bosnian Croat entity was to annexe it to the Republic of Croatia. Naletilic, Scott continued, was one of the leaders of Bosnian Croats in Herzegovina who regularly travelled to Croatia and met with the then defence minister, Gojko Susak. Susak, in turn, visited Naletilic at his headquarters in Siroki Brijeg (Herzegovina). The result of the campaign of creating an ethnically homogenous state, Scott said, was the exile of dozens of thousands of Moslems from Herzegovina. He reiterated the ethnic cleansing campaign began with HVO attacks on Moslem civilians and the Army of Bosnia- Herzegovina in the region of Central Bosnia on April 16, 1993, only a day after the president of the Croat Community of Herzeg Bosnia, Mate Boban, issued an ultimatum to Moslems to submit to HVO rule. In this case too, the prosecutor reiterated the Convicts' Battalion was a very well-equipped, aggressive unit of several hundred members, and which, during the war, was known for its involvement in the dirtiest work. They were infamous for destroying Moslem homes and religious buildings, the killing of Moslems, the abuse of prisoners, using them for forced labour and as human shield. Naletilic is indicted for the destruction of the villages of Sovic and Doljani, the persecution of Mostar Moslems and the abuse of prisoners who were held at Mostar's helicopter platform. Some of the crimes were committed by the defendants themselves, some by their subordinates, said Scott, and added the trial would provide evidence to show the crimes committed by Naletilic's deputy, Ivan Andabak. Naletilic personally shoved pistols in the mouths of prisoners and forced them to lie down and kiss Croat soil, the prosecutor continued. Some prisoners were even forced to work on Naletilic's house, that is, the construction of a pool. While Scott was saying this, Naletilic was smiling sarcastically. Both Naletilic and Martinovic followed Scott's opening speech with a serious look on their faces. Naletilic, though, attracted the public's attention in the courtroom by wearing a red, black and white tie to the first day of the trial. His defence attorney Kresimir Krsnik again moved for the trial to be postponed, arguing the defence counsel received thousands of documents, not translated into Croatian, at the last minute from the prosecution, while the prosecution asserted it had fulfilled its obligations in line with the tribunal's provisions. The panel of judges, with Chinese Judge Liu Daqun at the helm, dismissed Krsnik's request for the trial to be postponed for two months. (hina) lml sb