CONFIDENTIAL ICTY INDICTMENT UNSEALED AFTER KRSTIC'S ARREST

ZAGREB, Dec 3 (Hina) - The Bosnian Serb army General Radislav Krstic, arrested by NATO's Stabilisation Force near Bjeljina on Wednesday, is charged with genocide, crimes against humanity, and the violation of the laws or customs of war. An indictment against Krstic was issued on October 30, 1998 by a prosecutor of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) in The Hague, and was confirmed on December 2, 1998 by Judge Florence Mumba. The prosecutor states that, alongside Ratko Mladic, Krstic commanded Bosnian Serb forces which captured and carried out systematic summary executions of Bosnian Muslims after the fall of Srebrenica, an enclave area in eastern Bosnia. Between July 10 and 18, 1995, Bosnian Serb forces, commanded by Mladic and Krstic, through exile and killings "virtually eliminated the presence of any Bosnian Muslims" in the Srebrenica enclave area, the indictment said. Given the seriousness of the charges and Krstic's military position, the ICTY prosecutor believes yesterday's arrest to be very significant for the Tribunal's work in the future. Krstic was Lieutenant Colonel in the former Yugoslav People's Army (JNA) before he entered the Bosnian Serb army's Drina Corps in 1992 as commander of the Second Romanija Motorised Brigade. In June 1995, he was promoted to the rank of General Major, and a month later was appointed commander of the Drina Corps which that month attacked Srebrenica. In April 1998, Krstic was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel General. At the time of his arrest, he commanded the Bosnian Serb army's Fifth Corps. Krstic's indictment, unsealed after his arrest, contains two other names which remain unknown to the public because the ICTY wants to keep them confidential. Former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic and army commander Mladic, who are still believed to be on Bosnian territory, were accused for the Srebrenica massacres in a separate, already issued public ICTY indictment. (hina) ha jn