Military

DATE=3/9/2004

TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT

TITLE=SERBIA / WAR CRIMES (L-ONLY)

NUMBER=2-313951

BYLINE=STEPHAN BOS

DATELINE=BUDAPEST

CONTENT=

VOICED AT:

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INTRO: The trial of six Serbs accused of committing war crimes more than 12 years ago in Croatia has opened in Belgrade. Stefan Bos reports from Budapest this is the first major war crimes trial held in Serbia.

TEXT: The accused are charged with a role in the killing of about 200 prisoners in the town of Vukovar in eastern Croatia in November 1991, after Yugoslav troops captured the town.

The accused were members of a paramilitary unit fighting in Vukovar against Croatia's independence from Yugoslavia. In one of the most brutal episodes of that war, they allegedly transported prisoners of war from a Vukovar hospital to a nearby pig farm and executed them.

The special prosecutors originally indicted eight men, but a court official said one suspect died Monday, after an apparent suicide attempt and another has turned a state witness.

Prosecutors said the trial is a test case for Serbia. The new government has made it a centerpiece of its policy to deal with war crimes at home, rather than send suspects to the U-N War Crimes Tribunal in The Hague.

Serbia established the special criminal tribunal with Western help to deal specifically with cases involving war crimes and organized crime.

Newly appointed Serbian Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica has been a leading supporter of domestic justice for Serbs accused of war crimes.

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The chief defendant, Miroljub Vujovic, who was allegedly in command of the paramilitary unit, has denied charges against him.

If convicted, the defendants face up to 20 years in jail. (SIGNED)

NEB/SB/MAR/TW/FC