At the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia in The Hague, former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic called the Serb cause in the Bosnian war "just and holy".

Mr Karadzic, who is accused of genocide, has been given two days to present his version of the war in Bosnia in the 1990s. Speaking in Serbian, he told the court he had sufficient evidence to prove he was not a war criminal.

On Wednesday, the prosecutors will call the first witness out of a total of 400. Mr Karadzic has the right to cross-examine them, but said he did not know whether he would attend the proceedings. He is demanding more time and means to prepare his defence, but the judges refuse to consider a new postponement.

Mr Karadzic is entitled to conduct his own defence, but will be represented by a court-appointed lawyer should he chose to stay away. So far, the former Bosnian-Serb leader has refused to meet his lawyer.