BRUSSELS, Dec. 12 (Xinhuanet) -- Former Croatian General Ante Gotovina pleaded not guilty in his initial appearance to war crimes charges at the UN tribunal in the Hague on Monday.

    The 50-year-old general, who was arrested in Spain's Canary Islands last Wednesday, pleaded at the court not guilty to four counts of crimes against humanity and three counts of violations of the laws or customs of war.

    The indictment against him alleges that troops under his command subjected large numbers of Serbs to inhumane treatment, humiliation and degradation, during what was called Operation Storm in 1995.

    It was considered a turning point in the conflict which ended more than four years of Serb control of the self-proclaimed republic of Krajina within Croatia.

    "Gotovina knew or had reason to know that forces under his effective control were about to murder Krajina Serbs," said the indictment that was read out at the UN tribunal in The Hague.

    "Gotovina failed to take necessary and reasonable measures to prevent the commission of such acts or punish the perpetrators thereof."

    Gotovina is the last wanted war crimes suspect from Croatia andhis fugitive status created tension between the European Union(EU)and Zagreb, with talks on Croatia's EU membership talks put on hold until October because the government was judged not to be doing enough to track him down. Enditem