TRIAL OF BOSNIAN CROATS KORDIC & CERKEZ BEGINS AT HAGUE TRIBUNAL

THE HAGUE, Apr 12 (Hina) - The trial of two Bosnian Croats, former vice president of the Croat Republic of Herceg-Bosna Dario Kordic and former knights' brigade commander Mario Cerkez, began on Monday at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) in The Hague. According to the opening address made by prosecutor Geoffrey Nice, Kordic and Cerkez took part in a long and widespread persecution of Muslims in central Bosnia. Nice emphasised the two defendants must face the consequences if they did abuse their power and failed to comply with their commitments. The indictment charges Kordic, 38, and Cerkez, 40, with the systematic persecution of Bosnian Muslim civilians on political, racial, ethnic, or religious grounds, on the territory of the Croat Republic of Herceg-Bosna between late 1991 and March 1994 in Kordic's case, and on the territory of Vitez, Novi Travnik, and Busovaca between April 1992 and August 1993 in Cerkez's case. Both defendants are also charged on personal and commanding responsibility for crimes against humanity, serious breaches of the Geneva conventions and of the law and customs of war. Both Kordic and Cerkez earlier pleaded not guilty on all 22 counts of the indictment. The panel of judges in the trial is chaired by British Judge Richard May. Kordic's defence on Monday stated the defendant was waiting for the opportunity the trial would give him to finally clear his name and tell the whole world he is innocent and that the accusations brought by the ICTY prosecutor's office are unfounded. According to his defence, Kordic is assured that once all evidence has been heard, justice will be satisfied and he will be pronounced innocent. Kordic's Croatian-American team of attorneys includes Mitko Naumovski, David Geneson, Turner T. Smith Jr., Ksenija Turkovic, Stephen Sayers, Robert Stein and Leo Andreis, while Cerkez is defended by Zagreb attorneys Bozidar Kovacic and Goran Mikulicic. (hina) ha