August 30, 2008	Saturday	Sha'aban 27, 1429

THE HAGUE, Aug 29: The UN tribunal for the former Yugoslavia entered a plea of not guilty on behalf of former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic for war crimes and genocide charges on Friday after he refused to plead.

At his second plea hearing before his trial for charges relating to the 1992-95 Bosnian war, Karadzic refused to enter pleas for all of the 11 charges against him in front of presiding judge Iain Bonomy.

“I will not plead in line with my standpoint as regards to this court,” Karadzic answered to the first charge of genocide, referring to his refusal to recognise the court’s legitimacy.

Asked whether his position applied to all of the charges, Karadzic said: “Absolutely, yes”. “In other words, your plea is one of not guilty to the indictment as a whole,” Bonomy declared during the hearing, which lasted just under half an hour.—Reuters