ABOUT 55,000 Yugoslav football supporters shouted for the ousting of
Slobodan Milosevic after the floodlights failed
during the country's long-awaited
European championship clash with Croatia.
The match in the Red Star Stadium in Belgrade was
the first time the two
nations had met since the civil war which led to
Croatia separating from the rest
of Yugoslavia. It had attracted heavy security
amid fears that the largest
gathering of people in Belgrade could lead to
protests against the regime.
The timing was especially critical: the eve of
the biggest in a series of
demonstrations against the government since the
end of the 11-week Nato
bombardment. Earlier in the week there had been
reports that Milosevic's
regime had tried to buy up thousands of tickets
to prevent any protest at a
match which was due to be watched on television
by most of Yugoslavia.
There have already been warnings of widespread
power cuts during the winter
because power stations were damaged during the
bombing, but few had
predicted that the lights would fail during the
game. As the ground was blacked
out, with the score 0-0, police circled the
stadium to prevent further
disturbances.
Vh. Karsten Johansen