The top Bosnian Croat war crimes suspect and nine others were turned over Monday to the international tribunal that will try them for atrocities committed during Bosnia's war.
The tribunal - a U.N. court tracking down and trying suspects in wartime massacres, tortures and rapes - placed the 10 in custody after they surrendered in exchange for assurances of a speedy trial.The suspects say they are not guilty but want to clear their names. Their arraignment was tentatively set for Wednesday.
They joined 10 other war crimes suspects in the tribunal's special maximum-security holding cell in Scheveningen, a North Sea town just north of The Hague. Motorcycle police escorted two white Mercedes vans with tinted windows into the prison complex.
The surrender of Dario Kordic, charged with commanding troops who murdered Muslims in central Bosnia, was a victory for the United States and its allies. They had been pressuring Croatian President Franjo Tudjman, who has great influence among Bosnian Croats, to turn over the suspects.
It also was a boost for the tribunal. Few suspects are in custody, and the trials of those who have been arrested have dragged on for months.
In a brief statement, the tribunal called on Bosnian Serbs "to play a similar role in assuring the surrender . . . of indicted accused in their territory."
In Split, Croatia, where the 10 men boarded a Dutch military plane earlier today, U.S. envoy Robert Gelbard called their surrender "a significant step forward" for the Dayton peace agreement in Bosnia.
"Those who surrendered today will be assured a fair trial and due process," said Gelbard, who negotiated the surrender with Tudjman.
Many officials believe there is little chance for peace in Bosnia unless leading war crimes suspects are arrested. The top Bosnian Serb suspects, wartime political leader Radovan Karadzic and military leader Gen. Ratko Mladic, are still free.