February 11, 2007 1:53 PM

THE HAGUE, Netherlands-A judge at the U.N. war crimes tribunal reaffirmed at a hearing Friday that three Croatian generals will go on trial on May 7, unless requests for the dismissal of the cases are granted before then.

The suspects are Gen. Ante Gotovina, formerly the top officer in the Croatian army, and generals Ivan Cermak and Mladen Markac.

Prosecutors accuse them of involvement in a "joint criminal enterprise" to drive Serbs from the Krajina region of southern Croatia in a campaign of murder and persecution. All three have pleaded not guilty.

Presiding Judge Bakone Moloto said the court would rule "soon" on requests by the suspects that the cases be dismissed.

Gregory Kehoe, representing Gotovina, complained that he had initially expected the trial not to begin until 2008, and that he was having difficulty preparing for a May start date due to not having all pre-trial evidence yet from prosecutors, and other logistical problems.

But the judge said prosecutors will present opening statements on May 7, with defense lawyers responding the following day with their opening remarks, "if any."

Gotovina and the other suspects are regarded by many Croatians as war heroes for the 1995 "Operation Storm" which retook land seized by rebel Serbs in 1991.

But prosecutors accuse them of involvement in ethnic cleansing that involved Croat forces murdering and mistreating scores of Serb civilians.

Gotovina was arrested more than a year ago in Spain's Canary Islands. Cermak and Markac surrendered voluntarily to the court in March 2004.