MAIN DISCUSSION AT BLASKIC TRIAL BEGINS

THE HAGUE, July 21 (Hina) - The main discussion at the Tihomir Blaskic trial before the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) resumed on Monday with a cross-examination of prosecution witness Robert Donia. Donia, a U.S. historian and financial management manager with the Merill Lynch Company, today answers the defense's questions concerning details of his testimony on the history of peoples on the territory of the former Yugoslavia, which he made before an ICTY Trial Chamber in June. Counsels for the defense are Anto Nobilo and Russel Hayman. The prosecutors are Mark Harmon, Gregory Kehoe and Andrew Cayley. The Trial Chamber is composed of presiding Judge Claude Jorda and Judges Fuad Riad, from Egypt, and Mohamed Shakabuddeen, from Guyana. Blaskic was accused on 20 counts in November 1995 for grave breaches of the Geneva Convention, violations of the laws and customs of war, and crimes against humanity committed in the Lasva Valley (central Bosnia), where he was commander of the Croatian Defense Council operation zone during the Muslim-Croat conflict. (hina) ha 211248 MET jul 97