Bosnian Serb army commander Ratko Mladic is on trial in The Hague 20 years after the start of the conflict in Bosnia
Gen Mladic faces 11 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity, including genocide, in connection with the brutal 1992-95 Bosnian war.
Prosecutors at The Hague said they would show his hand in the crimes.
He has called the accusations “monstrous” and the court has entered a not guilty plea on his behalf.
Gen Mladic is accused of orchestrating the massacre of more than 7,000 Muslim boys and men at Srebrenica in 1995.
He is also charged in connection with the 44-month siege of Sarajevo during which more than 10,000 people died.
Gen Mladic, dressed in a dark grey suit, applauded and gave a thumbs-up as the judges walked in.
The prosecution opened the hearing at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) with an audio-visual presentation laying out the case against Gen Mladic.
Prosecuting counsel Dermot Groome said they would prove Gen Mladic’s hand in the crimes.
“Four days ago marked two decades since Ratko Mladic became the commander of the main staff of the army of Republika Srpska – the VRS,” he said.
“On that day, Mladic began his full participation in a criminal endeavour that was already in progress. On that day, he assumed the mantle of realising through military might the criminal goals of ethnically cleansing much of Bosnia. On that day he commenced his direct involvement in serious international crimes.”
Mr Groome said that by the time General Mladic and his troops had “murdered thousands in Srebrenica” they were “well-rehearsed in the craft of murder”.
He then showed judges video of the aftermath of a notorious shelling of a market in the Bosnian capital Sarajevo, in which dozens of people died.
Mr Groome said there was “no doubt” that Gen Mladic had controlled the shelling of Sarajevo. He had promised that the city would shake, the prosecutor said.
Mr Groome said the attacks were part of an “overarching” plan to ethnically cleanse non-Serbs from parts of Bosnia.
Gen Mladic has been awaiting trial in the same prison as his former political leader Radovan Karadzic, who was arrested in 2008 and is now about half way through his trial on similar charges to Gen Mladic.
Mr Groome said Radovan Karadzic’s choice of Gen Mladic was not random but because he could help to achieve the strategic goals of Bosnian Serbs.
At one point, presiding Judge Alphons Orie told Gen Mladic to focus on the court proceedings and not take part in “inappropriate interaction” with people in the public gallery.
In the hours leading up to the opening of proceedings, members of the Mothers of Srebrenica group gathered for a vigil outside the court.
Judicial authorities have rejected defence calls to delay proceedings, most recently a petition to have Dutch Judge Orie replaced on grounds of alleged bias.
However, even as the trial began there were further indications it would be delayed.
Judge Orie said the court was considering postponing the presentation of evidence – due to start on 29 May – due to “errors” by the prosecution in disclosing evidence to the defence.
Mr Groome said he would not oppose a “reasonable adjournment”.
Gen Mladic spent 15 years on the run before being apprehended by Serb forces last May and sent to The Hague.
The number of crimes of which he stands accused has been almost halved to speed up his trial.
Gen Mladic is accused of committing genocide and other crimes against Bosniaks (Bosnian Muslims) and Bosnian Croats in a campaign of ethnic cleansing that began in 1992 and climaxed in Srebrenica in 1995.
Then, Serb fighters overran the Srebrenica enclave in eastern Bosnia – supposedly under the protection of Dutch UN peacekeepers. Men and boys were separated off, shot dead and bulldozed into mass graves – later to be dug up and reburied in more remote spots.
These were the worst atrocities in Europe since the end of World War II.
Pre-trial hearings have been characterised by ill-tempered outbursts from General Mladic, who has heckled the judge and interrupted proceedings.
“The whole world knows who I am,” he said at a hearing last year.
“I am General Ratko Mladic. I defended my people, my country… now I am defending myself.”
The case has stirred up strong emotions among watching survivors, with some shouting “murderer” and “killer” from the court gallery.
However, while Gen Mladic’s critics consider him a butcher, to some Serbs he is a national hero.
Gen Mladic suffered at least one stroke while in hiding and remains in frail health.
The architect of the Balkan wars, former Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic, died in detention in his cell in 2006, before receiving a verdict.—BBC
