General denies Dubrovnik charges

The U.N. court in The Hague: Strugar flew in on Sunday

THE HAGUE, The Netherlands -- A former Yugoslav general on trial in connection with the 1991 siege of Dubrovnik has denied charges against him at a United Nations war crimes court.

Retired Gen. Pavle Strugar, 68, pleaded not guilty to charges of violating the laws and customs of war when he appeared before the tribunal at The Hague on Thursday.

He faces 16 charges of being responsible for murder, cruelty, attacks on civilians and destroying or willfully damaging property during attacks on the Croatian town.

Strugar, who commanded Yugoslav forces between October and early December 1991, when the siege ended, told the court: "I have the indictment in its entirety and it is clear to me and I plead not guilty."

Three other former Yugoslav army and naval officers are also indicted for suspected murder, plunder and the destruction of nearly 70 percent of Dubrovnik in an attempt to incorporate the 17th century town into Serbia, the largest of the Yugoslav republics.

Strugar, who had surrendered voluntarily to the court, told the hearing he had been suffering from a kidney condition since arriving in The Hague on Sunday and wanted treatment, Reuters reported. He had flown in a private jet from the Yugoslav republic of Montenegro with his lawyer, relatives and medical attendants.

Before leaving, Strugar, who had been treated for 20 days in hospital in the Montenegrin capital Podgorica, had declared that he would prove his innocence.

"I am also convinced that it is as honourable court as it could be here in Yugoslavia. I was soldier for 42 years. I always have been working in dignified and human manner, towards people and my country," The Associated Press reported him as saying.

"I have been dignified and human in a war, too. I am not a criminal. I expect fair trial where I will prove my innocence."

Strugar recently moved to Podgorica from the Yugoslav capital Belgrade, where he lived since retiring from the Yugoslav army in August 1993.

During the Dubrovnik siege at least 43 civilians were killed and 563 buildings destroyed or damaged in the Old Town, formerly a U.N. World Heritage Site, the indictment said.