FORMER HEAD OF BOSNIA'S HDZ TESTIFIES IN TRIAL OF KORDIC, CERKEZ

THE HAGUE, July 27 (Hina) - Stjepan Kjujic, a former president of the Croatian Democratic Union of Bosnia-Herzegovina (HDZ BiH), on Monday testified before The Hague Tribunal in the trial of Dario Kordic, a former vice-president of the Croat Community of Herzeg- Bosnia, and Mario Cerkez, a former commander of the Vitez Brigade. Kljujic spoke about the conflict of different political platforms represented in the 90's by Bosnian Croats and their relations with the HDZ leadership from Croatia. #L# Kjujic, who had received a binding order to appear as a witness, yesterday witnessed for the first time before the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY). Kljujic's testimony, which originally was to be secret, was broken off after only one day so that Kordic's and Cerkez's attorneys could prepare for his cross-examination in autumn. Kljujic spoke about the establishment of the HDZ BiH and the Croat Community of Herzeg-Bosnia and their contacts with Zagreb. He supported his statements with 54 documents, which have been entered as evidence, including the transcript of a meeting between Bosnian Croat representatives and Croatian President Franjo Tudjman in late 1991, when major differences between the two factions within the HDZ BiH, led by Kjujic and Mate Boban, became obvious. Kjujic was replaced by Boban shortly afterwards. Forty-eight hearings have been held and 25 witnesses have been heard since the beginning of the trial of Kordic and Cerkez, on April 12. The trial chamber has heard the testimonies of a number of international representatives, from UNPROFOR to European Community observers, as well as of Muslims from central Bosnia, who spoke about relations between the two ethnic communities, the beginning of the first conflicts, and the victims. Kordic and Cerkez are charged with the expulsion of Muslims from central Bosnia in the early 90's. (hina) rml