GENERAL PETKOVIC POSSIBLY TESTIFYING BEFORE HAGUE TRIBUNAL

ZAGREB, Nov 14 (Hina) - The Hague-based International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) refused Tuesday to confirm the possible testifying of General Milivoj Petkovic at the trial of the former vice-president of the Bosnian Croat Community of Herzeg-Bosnia, Dario Kordic, and former Vitez brigade commander, Mario Cerkez, although Petkovic left for The Hague on Sunday. We do not comment on anything taking place in closed sessions, ICTY spokesman Jim Landale said when asked to confirm the testifying of the former chief-of-staff of the Croatian Defence Council (HVO) in Bosnia-Herzegovina. The Tribunal recently requested Petkovic's presence as a witness. The trial against Kordic and Cerkez for the ethnically-motivated prosecution of Muslims on the territory of the then Herceg-Bosna (Kordic) and in the Vitez municipality (Cerkez) was held in closed sessions Monday and Tuesday. Petkovic had testified at a closed session on one previous occasion, at the trial of the former commander of the Central Bosnia Operations Zone, Tihomir Blaskic. His testimony then stirred the interest of Croatian media, especially after speculation on how much Petkovic's testimony had influenced the passing of Blaskic's 45-year prison sentence. Subsequently, the veracity of his statements to the court has been put into question since the issuing of a transcript from talks of late Croatian President Franjo Tudjman and his associates about Petkovic's testimony. (hina) lml