'Karadzic Will Appear At Trial'

Radovan Karadzic

Former Bosnian Serb leader says he will appear at his trial in the Hague on genocide and war crimes charges.

He boycotted the trial's start last week saying he needed more time to prepare his defence.

In a letter to the presiding judge, Mr Karadzic says he will attend a status conference at the court on Tuesday to find a solution.

Mr Karadzic, who denies all the charges, also calls for a fair trial.

Prosecutors, who have branded him the leader of an ethnic cleansing campaign in the Bosnian war of the 1990s, have resumed setting out their case.

In opening remarks last week, prosecutors said Mr Karadzic had "harnessed the forces of nationalism, hatred and fear" to pursue his vision of a state without Muslims.

The 64-year-old is representing himself at the trial.

Defence arguments
The former president of Republika Srpska, head of the Serbian Democratic Party (SDS) and commander of the Bosnian Serb Army faces two charges of genocide and nine more of war crimes and crimes against humanity during the 1992-1995 war, which left more than 100,000 people dead.

Proceedings were adjourned when Mr Karadzic failed to appear in court last Monday.

When he again failed to appear on Tuesday, presiding Judge O-Gon Kwon said he had chosen not to exercise his right to be present and "must therefore accept the consequences", announcing that the court would proceed in his absence.

He said the court would consider imposing a lawyer to represent Mr Karadzic if he continued to boycott proceedings.

In its opening remarks, the prosecution labelled Mr Karadzic the "undisputed leader" of Serbs responsible for carrying out atrocities during the 1992-1995 conflict.

"This case is about that supreme commander, a man who harnessed the forces of nationalism, hatred and fear to implement his vision of an ethnically separated Bosnia: ," said prosecutor Alain Tieger.

Mr Karadzic, who is scheduled to give his opening argument this week, has refused to enter pleas and his legal counsel in Belgrade said he would reject any counsel imposed by the court.

He was taken to the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) in The Hague last year, after 13 years in hiding. He faces a maximum sentence of life in prison if convicted.