'Butcher of the Balkans' appears at UN court

msnbc.com staff and news service reports msnbc.com staff and news service reports

THE HAGUE, Netherlands�? Former Bosnian Serb military chief Ratko Mladic refused to enter pleas Friday to "obnoxious charges" as he appeared before the United Nations war crimes court and said that he is "a gravely ill man."

During a 100-minute hearing, Mladic was arraigned on an 11-count indictment charging him with orchestrating the worst atrocities of a war that claimed 100,000 lives.

Asked by Presiding Judge Alphons Orie if he understood his rights as a suspect at the Yugoslav war crimes tribunal at The Hague, Mladic said he was gravely ill and needed more time to understand the charges.

Mladic did not immediately elaborate on his illness. Orie later said any discussion over his health would be held in a "private session".

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Mladic, 69, also told the war crimes court that he did not want to enter pleas to the "obnoxious charges" against him. He said the 37-page indictment included "monstrous words."

Video: Mladic visits daughter's grave (on this page)

Extradited to the Netherlands from Serbia on Tuesday following his arrest last week, Mladic appeared in court wearing a suit, tie and cap.

Mladic stood looking bullish between two guards as the hearing started. He took off the cap when he sat down and confirmed he could understand the proceedings.

"I am General Mladic," Mladic said in a calm voice.

Mladic shook his head as charges of genocide over the Srebrenica massacre were read aloud to him.

"I did not kill Croats as Croats," he later told Orie. "I was just defending my country."

Srebrenica: The story that will never end

Mladic faces the special court's gravest charge, that of genocide for the 1995 Srebrenica massacre of 8,000 Muslim males and for the 43-month siege of Sarajevo from 1992 to 1995 in which some 12,000 were killed.

He was arrested last week in a Serbian village. His capture came nearly 16 years after The Hague court issued its indictment against him.

A career soldier, Mladic was branded "the butcher of the Balkans" in the late 1990s for a ruthless campaign to seize and "ethnically cleanse" territory for Serbs following the breakup of the Serb-dominated Yugoslav federation of six republics.

Five years of conflict
Serb nationalists believe Mladic defended the nation and did no worse than Croat or Bosnian Muslim army commanders, as the federation was torn apart in five years of conflict that claimed some 130,000 lives, destroying towns and villages.

Hague chief prosecutor Serge Brammertz said Mladic had used his power to commit brutal atrocities and must answer for it.

The International Tribunal for former Yugoslavia, set up in 1993, expects to wind up its work by 2014. It has issued 161 indictments and has now accounted for all but one fugitive.

Serbs say the fact that two-thirds of them were Serbian is proof of the court's bias. Hague prosecutors say it is a reflection of which side carried out the biggest war crimes.

'His condition is not good'
Mladic spent the night in a prison hospital bed under medical supervision, his lawyer in The Hague said.

"He has not had proper health care for years and his condition is not good," said Aleksandar Aleksic, a prominent Belgrade lawyer appointed by the tribunal Thursday to represent Mladic, whom he met the same day.

The tribunal said medical supervision for a newly arrived detainee was normal routine.

Video: Mladic supporters clash with police (on this page)

As reported in Serbian media following his capture, Mladic has partially lost the use of one hand due to a stroke suffered years ago.

But Aleksic confirmed the description given by tribunal officials and diplomats who met the general on his arrival, of a man who appears frail but mentally capable and responsive, and was cooperative and talkative.

He has a room to himself with a small outdoor yard where he can walk and has been making phone calls to his family, he said.

Video: Srebrenica welcomes Mladic arrest (on this page)

For most of his years at large, Mladic managed to live discreetly but safely in Belgrade, relying on loyal supporters who consider him a war hero, not a war criminal.

But as pressure mounted on Serbia to arrest and extradite him, or watch its bid for European Union membership wither, Mladic's network of support apparently dwindled and he was forced to go ever deeper underground to avoid capture.

A Belgrade-based lawyer who failed to prevent the general's extradition on grounds of ill health said Thursday that Mladic was treated for cancer in 2009.

Serb Justice Minister Snezana Malovic and Serbian deputy war crimes prosecutor Bruno Vekaric dismissed the claim.

Reuters, The Associated Press and msnbc.com staff contributed to this report.

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Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/43263440/ns/world_news-europe/

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