Former Croatian General Ante Gotovina went on trial at the U.N. war crimes tribunal on Tuesday charged with driving Serbs from Croatia's Krajina region with a campaign of murder and plunder.Gotovina, who is accused with two other former Croatian generals Ivan Cermak and Mladen Markac, was instrumental in planning the retaking of the Krajina which Serbs had claimed in 1991 and cleansed of Croatians, U.N. prosecutors say."This trial arises from the forcible elimination of Krajina Serbs from Croatia and the destruction of their communities in August 1995 and the roles and responsibilities of the generals in that process," prosecutor Alan Tieger told the court.Gotovina's troops murdered at least 37 ethnic Serbs, torched villages and stabbed and burned those trying to flee as part of "Operation Storm", a massive military operation from August until September 1995, according to the indictment.
Although the legality of Croatia's retaking of its territory is not in question, crimes against humanity and war crimes took place during the execution of the operation and in its intention to permanently remove Serbs, the prosecution said.
"The Serb community was a scarred wasteland of destroyed villages and homes. By the end of the first day of the operation Serbs were in panic-stricken flight, not by accident but by design," Tieger said."For those who remained, life became a nightmare.""Operation Storm" meant the end for many Serbs of their lives on their ancestral lands, Tieger added.After he was indicted in 2001, Gotovina evaded arrest by travelling extensively using false identities before his capture in Spain's Canary Islands in December 2005.As the overall commander of the offensive, he knew of the mistreatment of Serbs but failed to prevent the crimes or punish the perpetrators, according to prosecutors.All three accused, who have pleaded not guilty, are charged with participating in a joint criminal enterprise alongside Croatia's late former President Franjo Tudjman that aimed to permanently remove the Serb population.The three sat side by side in court dressed in dark suits. Gotovina, a 52-year-old former French Foreign Legionnaire, was the court's last wanted war crimes suspect from Croatia.His arrest has helped ease Croatia's path to joining the European Union, which has long been sceptical about how hard Zagreb was trying to hunt a man many Croats consider a national hero.His trial is being shown live on Croatian state television.The prosecution blames Gotovina for doing nothing to stop the murder of at least 150 civilians. "Gotovina planned, instigated, ordered, committed or otherwise aided and abetted in the planning, preparation or execution of the deportation and forced displacement of the Serb population," the indictment said. "These crimes included the unlawful killing of Serbs who did not flee, the burning and destruction of Serb villages, and the looting of property. The cumulative effect led to the large-scale displacement of an estimated 150,000-200,000 Serbs."Gotovina remains a hero to Croatian nationalists, who watched the trial live on TV in Croatia yesterday.
Before returning to Croatia as Yugoslavia collapsed, Gotovina had been in Africa as a French legionnaire, and had been convicted in France of robbery, kidnapping and extortion.