Serb general postpones plea at war crimes hearing

AMSTERDAM, June 19 (Reuters) Serb police general Vlastimir Djordjevic, indicted for crimes against humanity for ordering the killings of Kosovo Albanians in 1998-99, appeared before The Hague war crimes tribunal today but did not enter a plea.

The 58-year-old Serb, at his first hearing at the UN war crimes tribunal, requested a 30-day postponement as he had not yet chosen a permanent lawyer.

Djordjevic was arrested on Sunday in the coastal resort of Budva in Montenegro. He is in custody in The Hague.

The court granted Djordjevic's request and said it would schedule a second hearing.

Djordjevic was indicted in 2003 for his role in a Serb crackdown on ethnic Albanian separatist guerrillas in Kosovo.

REUTERS JK VV1834