Croatian charged with war crimes

Supporters say Norac is a national hero

A former Croatian army general, whose investigation for war crimes spurred a massive public protest, has been formally indicted.

Major General Mirko Norac, 33, and four others are accused of ordering and taking part in the killings of at least 24 Serbs in the central Croatian city of Gospic in October 1991.

Norac: Thousands joined street protests to back him

The indictment sets the stage for the country's first war crimes trial against its own forces for atrocities committed during the 1991-95 war of independence from Yugoslavia.

Last month, nearly 100,000 people demonstrated in the city of Split to protest against the investigation into General Norac's wartime activities.

He and the others could face up to 20 years in prison if convicted.

New protest expected

The indictment by the court in the north-western city of Rijeka is likely to spark new protests from war veterans and the former ruling party of the late President Franjo Tudjman.

Mesic: Sacked Norac for criticising government

The five men are charged with crimes against humanity, war crimes against the civilian population and violations of international law.

The indictment referred to 24 Serb victims and others who had not been identified.

Many Croats refuse to accept that their countrymen committed crimes in the 1991 war, which erupted when the country's Serbs took up arms to try to prevent Croatia's independence from former Yugoslavia.

The Rijeka court began investigating General Norac on 7 February, but he went into hiding, surrendering only after the UN war crimes tribunal in The Hague said it would not indict him.

He and other four accused - Tihomir Oreskovic, Ivica Rozic, Stjepan Grandic and Milan Canic - are in custody in Rijeka.

Denial

The killings in Gospic, 200km (125 miles) south-west of Zagreb, have been reported in Croatian media for years.

General Norac and Mr Oreskovic, his right-hand man, were implicated in the killings by three other former soldiers from Gospic.

At the time, Gospic was under attack by the Yugoslav army and Serb rebels who opposed Zagreb's independence drive.

General Norac told the court on 22 February he had no knowledge of the deaths.

"The allegations against me are completely unfounded and will easily be disproved in a court of law," he told Croatian television.

He was sacked by President Stipe Mesic last year along with 11 other generals who publicly criticised the government's resolve to prosecute war crimes committed by Croatia's own troops.