THE HAGUE (AFP) — Croatian general Ante Gotovina, one of the UN war crimes court's most high-profile prisoners, goes on trial Tuesday for leading a 1995 military offensive that pushed 200,000 Serbs out of Croatia.
Gotovina and two other Croatian generals in the same case face charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity including persecution, murder and plunder for what had been dubbed Operation Storm.
The lightning military operation led to the recapture of Croatia's Serb-held Krajina region in 1995, crushing one of the last pockets of Serb resistance. Between 150,000 and 200,000 Serbs fled or were forced to flee to Bosnia and Serbia during the offensive. More than 150 Serb civilians died during the offensive, according to the indictment.
Gotovina, 52, and his two co-defendants Ivan Cermak and Mladen Markac have pleaded not guilty to the charges.
According to the prosecution Gotovina "commanded troops during the course of their systematic burning and looting of Serb homes ... and during the widespread attacks, including killings against Serb civilians".
The other two generals in the dock are also accused of playing key roles in Operation Storm.
Cermak, 58, commanded the Knin Garisson and prosecutors say he led so-called cleansing operations to clear the area of Serbs. Markac, 52, was the assistant minister of the interior responsible for the police forces who took part in the operation.
Gotovina was arrested in December 2005, after almost four years on the run, in a luxury hotel on Spain's Canary Islands.
While his arrest drew tens of thousands of Croatians to the streets to show their support for Gotovina interest in his case is waning in Croatia, analysts there said.
Croatian media have not given much attention to the start of the trial.
"The story with the ICTY has lost its importance. Croatia is now in different circumstances as it faces other political problems," political analyst Davor Gjenero said.
Gotovina's arrest was the key condition set by the European Union to start membership talks with Croatia.
"The overwhelming majority of people is now indifferent to the fate of Gotovina. They want to turn to positive things and improve their lives," another analyst, Zarko Puhovski told AFP in Zagreb.
But in his native coastal region of Zadar Gotovina still enjoys immense popularity and there are posters of him proclaiming: Hero Not A War Criminal.
The general's defence is also stressing that Gotovina "ended the wars in Bosnia and Croatia" and fought against then Yugoslav leader Slobodan Milosevic and therefore deserved praise, not a war crimes indictment.
"To label him a war criminal would be an injustice not only to him but to the victims whose suffering he ended when no one else in the international community would," his lawyers wrote in their pre-trial brief to the judges.
Ironically Gotovina's trial opens on the two-year anniversary of the death of Milosevic in the UN detention unit.
The erstwhile enemies apparently enjoyed good relations while they were both held in The Hague as Gotovina led a string of other UN inmates in signing a special death notice "to a Hague comrade-in-arms" that appeared in Serbian newspapers.
The trial is to open with a prosecution statement starting at 9:00 am (0800 GMT). On Wednesday Gotovina's defence will present its opening arguments and the first witness is expected to take the stand on Thursday.
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