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PRESIDENT Milosevic yesterday offered early elections in Yugoslavia in a sign of deep unease on the eve of a planned opposition rally in Belgrade.
"We believe that there are more important things on the nation's agenda than the elections, but if the opposition wants that, so be it," said Ivica Dacic, a spokesman for Mr Milosevic's ruling Socialist Party. "We are ready."
The election offer will fall far short of opposition demands for the Yugoslav President's resignation and installation of an interim government. But it will widen the rift between opposition groups.
Anti-Milosevic protests began in Serbia after the Nato air campaign left the country badly damaged, impoverished, isolated and without control over the southern province of Kosovo.
The democratic opposition has said it wants early elections, but only if they are monitored by international observers. Mr Dacic did not indicate the date of the new elections or whether foreign monitoring would be allowed. Elections are scheduled for 2001.
Opposition leaders have still been unable to forge a common front against Mr Milosevic. A key opposition leader, Vuk Draskovic, for example, will not attend today's rally.
The Democratic Party's deputy chairwoman Ljiljana Lucic said the offer of early elections would probably be just another attempt at vote fraud. "We are ready to test the people's will, but under new and better circumstances," she said. In another sign of tension in the capital, the European championship soccer game between Yugoslavia and Croatia descended into chaos shortly after half time last night when teargas canisters exploded and the Red Star Belgrade stadium lights were turned off.
With a 0-0 score, the crowd began calling for Mr Milosevic's resignation, chanting: "Slobbo go, Slobbo go, you betrayed Kosovo."
Some reports said that members of the Yugoslav Football Federation had turned off the lights to show that they, and not the Government, were in charge of the ground.
Before the match, Zelko Raznatovic - "Arkan" the indicted alleged war criminal - made a grand entrance accompanied by a brass band. Arkan's paramilitaries played a crucial role in the Croatian war of 1991. He threw handfuls of money at the crowd as a band struck up March To The Drina, in which the chorus is "To war, to war, all Serb heroes".
About 60,000 people turned up for the game, but several thousand seats remained unsold. Touts outside sold tickets bearing the date March 27 - the date the match was to be played before Nato's bombings began.