10 B-H CROATS WHO SURRENDERED TO ICTY TO HEAR INDICTMENTS ON WEDNESDAY

WEDNESDAY $ THE HAGUE, Oct 6 (Hina) - The International Criminal Tribunal for Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) is very satisfied with the fact that ten Bosnian Croat indictees have voluntarily surrendered to the Tribunal, Tribunal's spokesman Christian Chartier told Hina on Monday. #L# Chartier announced that the indictees would be brought before the Tribunal for the first time on Wednesday, in two groups. One group will include Dario Kordic, Ivan Santic, Pero Skopljak and Mario Cerkez, the other Zoran and Mirjan Kupreskic, Vladimir Santic, Drago Josipovic, Marinko Katava and Dragan Papic. According to the ICTY work regulations, the indictees will hear indictments, after which they will be asked how they plead. ICTY prosecutor Louise Arbour has spoken several times to their lawyers and told them that she is ready for a speedy procedure, and that the trial should be completed within a period of three to five months. The ICTY prosecutor stressed that she had in no way been involved in negotiations about the conditions and deadlines of the trial, Chartier said. Hearings in individual trials are determined by the Trial Chamber, not the prosecutor, he added. It is supposed that the prosecutor would propose that the trial be held for two groups - the first, so-called Lasva group and the second - Kupreskic and others. That, Chartier said, would be in line with the indictments. Chartier could not say whether there are legal possibilities which would allow the trial of Kordic, Cerkez, Ivan Santic and Skopljak to be held together with the on-going trial of Tihomir Blaskic. He said he personally thought that there were legal obstacles to that, considering the fact that the trial of Blaskic was underway. It is possible though that the group could be tried together with Zlatko Aleksovski, who had been indicted together with the group, but has been detained for some time in The Hague. (hina) jn rm 061738 MET oct 97