THE HAGUE, April 25: Former Yugoslav army commander General Dragoljub Ojdanic surrendered to The Hague war crimes tribunal on Thursday to face charges of committing war crimes in Kosovo under the orders of Slobodan Milosevic.

Ojdanic, the first senior Serbian figure indicted by the court to give himself up, was taken into custody at the tribunal’s detention centre in The Hague after flying to the Netherlands from Belgrade, a tribunal spokesman said.

Ojdanic says he will prove his innocence. A further five indictees are preparing to follow him to The Hague, where ex-president Milosevic is already on trial.

The general, who served for 41 years, commanded the armed forces during the 1998-99 campaign against Kosovo Albanian insurgents. He says the army conducted itself there in accordance with the law, the constitution and all international war conventions.

“On his arrival at the detention unit Mr Ojdanic will undergo the usual checking-in procedure which includes informing him again of the charges and all the rights offered to him by the tribunal,” court spokesman Jim Landale said.

Ojdanic is expected to make his initial appearance at the United Nations war crimes tribunal on Friday. He will be asked to plead to charges of helping to spearhead a campaign to force around 800,000 ethnic Albanians out of Kosovo in 1999.

The 61-year-old general, with his wife and lawyer, were seen off by family and well-wishers who gathered at Belgrade airport at dawn before his two-hour flight to the Netherlands.

“Try to be united,” Ojdanic told the Serbian people in a parting message. He said he felt “like a hero” and expected to be free pending his U.N. trial, since he had given his word to cooperate with the court.

US BLOCKS AID: By urging suspects to go to trial, Yugoslavia is trying to persuade Washington to remove a U.S. block on economic aid and loans it badly needs.

But 17 out of 23 Serbs indicted by the United Nations have refused to turn themselves in. The U.S. State Department says it wants those charged to appear before the tribunal before it releases funds.

Receiving reporters at home on the eve of his departure a tearful Ojdanic took his two grandsons on his knee and said: “I wish them never to become soldiers.”

He said it was shameful he faced trial in a foreign country on charges for which there was “no proof”.—Reuters