Bosnian Serb Ex-Chief Enters Innocent Plea

Former President Biljana Plavsic, the most senior Bosnian Serb leader to face a war crimes tribunal, pleaded innocent in The Hague to genocide and other crimes against humanity. Plavsic, 70--the sole woman among more than 30 suspects in custody--was accused of being part of the Bosnian Serb wartime presidency that allegedly ordered the executions of thousands of Muslims and Croats in an “ethnic cleansing” campaign at the outset of the 1992-95 conflict. Her voluntary surrender Wednesday after learning of the U.N. tribunal’s secret indictment fueled speculation that she had cut a deal--despite a denial from the chief prosecutor, Carla del Ponte.