( CNN ) -- Radovan Karadzic , the Bosnian Serb leader on trial for genocide during the Balkan wars , claimed he 's `` tolerant '' and blamed ethnic rivals for plotting violence . `` It was no secret to anyone '' that Muslims and Croats planned a massacre of his Serbian people after Yugoslavia disintegrated , said Karadzic , who opened his defense Tuesday at the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia at The Hague in the Netherlands . `` We could see it . It was obvious , '' said Karadzic , who faces multiple counts for a range of war crimes . The breakup of the multiethnic communist Yugoslavia in the early 1990s led to the bloodiest conflict on the European continent since World War II . Karadzic 's Bosnian Serb forces have been accused of ruthlessly working to oust Muslims and Croatians from regions claimed to be Serbian , actions that have come to be known as `` ethnic cleansing . '' But Karadzic , 67 , tried to make a case for himself as a humanitarian leader without designs to commit mass crimes . How the world took a step closer to ending impunity . `` I never allowed for the possibility of even the smallest individual crimes , and especially not crimes on a mass scale , nor the possibility that any of the communities would be permanently removed from the Serb territories , '' he said . `` I should have been rewarded for all the good things that I 've done , '' he said . `` I did everything within human power to avoid the war and to reduce the human suffering of all civilians . '' Karadzic has been charged in connection with three high-profile actions in the war . One is the notorious massacre of about 8,000 Muslim men and boys at Srebrenica in Bosnia and Herzegovina . That event has come to symbolize the brutality of the Balkan wars . Another is the `` permanent removal of Bosnian Muslims and Bosnian Croats from the territories of Bosnia and Herzegovina claimed as Bosnian Serb territory . '' He is charged for a role in overseeing the actions known as the `` siege of Sarajevo , '' sniping and shelling by Bosnian Serb forces in the Bosnian capital that killed and wounded thousands of civilians . But Karadzic defended his actions and said he has `` nothing against Muslims and Croats . '' A trained psychiatrist , he called himself a `` mild man '' and a `` tolerant man , with a great capacity for understanding others . '' That brought a shout of `` liar '' from The Hague gallery . Karadzic was indicted in 1995 . After hiding in plain sight for more than a decade , he was captured in Belgrade , Serbia , in 2008 . He had adopted an elaborate disguise that included long hair and a full beard , and was practicing alternative medicine in the Serbian capital . The trial began in 2009 , but Karadzic failed to attend the proceedings several times because he said he did n't have enough time to prepare . Genocide count dropped in Karadzic trial . The court allowed him to represent himself , with the provision that a standby lawyer will take over if he refuses to attend court . Karadzic made opening statements in March 2010 . The prosecution began presenting evidence in April 2010 and rested its case in May . The ICTY said the trial is expected to finish in 2014 . Karadzic , Bosnian Serb military commander Ratko Mladic and Yugoslavian President Slobodan Milosevic have been the highest-profile suspects on trial at the ICTY . Mladic was captured last year and is also on trial for charges such as genocide . Both Karadzic and Mladic would face life in prison if convicted . The court can not impose the death penalty . Milosevic died while on trial at The Hague . During the 1990s and the early 2000s , conflict raged in Bosnia , Croatia , Macedonia and Kosovo , a Serbian territory dominated by ethnic Albanians . An estimated 140,000 people died in the wars , ICTY head of communications , Nerma Jelacic , told CNN . Around 100,000 deaths occurred in Bosnia , she said . Yugoslavia 's six republics -- Serbia , Croatia , Slovenia , Bosnia , Montenegro and Macedonia -- are now independent countries . Kosovo broke away from Serbia and declared its independence several years ago . The tribunal has indicted 161 people for international law violations in the former Yugoslavia . The tribunal said `` the most significant number '' of its cases dealt with alleged crimes by Serbians or Bosnian Serbs . But there have been convictions for crimes against Serbs by others , including Croats , Bosnian Muslims and Kosovo Albanians . The trial of the last Yugoslavian war crimes suspect at large also started Tuesday , with proceedings beginning against Croatian Serb rebel leader Goran Hadzic . Appeals in some of the cases are expected to last until 2016 . CNN 's Dominique Van Heerden contributed to this report .
Radovan Karadzic is accused in the Srebrenica massacre , in which about 8,000 Muslims died . His charges stem from the violence during the breakup of Yugoslavia in the 1990s . He was captured by Bosnian Serb forces and tried at The Hague for genocide against Bosniaks ( a Muslim ethnic group ) who were killed as they sought to protect their homes after being driven out of Sarajevo. He could face life in prison if convicted .