War crimes trial awaits Milosevic speech

The trial of Slobodan Milosevic is moving into its second day with prosecutors ready for the opening comments of the former Yugoslav president.

Milosevic is the first head of state to be called to justice before an international tribunal.

His case is the most prominent in international law since a military tribunal tried the Nazi leaders after the Second World War.

He will present his response to allegations from UN prosecutors that he orchestrated a campaign to rid large portions of Croatia, Bosnia and Kosovo of non-Serb populations and create a "greater" Serb state.

Milosevic does not recognise the authority of the court and plans to defend himself before the three-member panel of judges.

His lawyers say he will call high ranking Western officials to testify, including former US president Bill Clinton, and Tony Blair.

Prosecutors spent the first day's six-hour hearings laying the groundwork for their case, attempting to link Milosevic to thousands of murders and the expulsion of nearly a million people from the three Balkan states.

Milosevic, 60, faces a total of 66 counts of genocide and other war crimes during a decade of strife in the republics that once made up Yugoslavia.

Each count carries a maximum sentence of life in prison. UN tribunals do not have a death penalty.

Milosevic's legal advisers say his he will argue that he is not a war criminal but a leader who sought unity and peace in his country.