Fiji soldiers began Monday loading guns and ammunition at the
Police Tactical Response Division headquarters for removal after
securing the compound for more than two hours.
Two trucks went inside the compound and started loading guns and
ammunition, said a reporter from Fiji Times, a Suva-based
newspaper.
The soldiers told police officers that they "wanted to inspect
their weapons." Meanwhile, non-essential staff at the police
station were sent home. The military crack down in Fiji appears to
be underway.
Fiji army commander Commodore Voreqe Bainimarama Thursday asked
the Qarase Government to meet all his demands and has threatened "a
peaceful transition" if that does not happen.
One of Bainimarama's demands is that the police disarm the
Tactical Response Unit.
Sources told Xinhua the soldiers are now loading the weapons
onto their trucks. Army troops have also gone out to secure another
police armory, said the sources.
Suva's street is still calm without many soldiers, Jin Renwu, a
Chinese restaurant owner told Xinhua.
It is reported the army is also trying to establish the
whereabouts of all politicians.
Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase is out of the capital at the
moment.
Tensions in Fiji have been high since Bainimarama threatened
last month to remove Prime Minister Qarase from office.
Bainimarama ever backed down from those threats after Qarase met
his demand to amend controversial legislation, removing amnesty for
people convicted over Fiji's 2000 coup.
He issued last week demands to the government and a two-week
deadline to comply, and has recalled army reservists in readiness
for what he described as a "clean-up" of the Qarase government.
On Wednesday night, the army conducted a several-hour exercise
firing flares and securing areas of the capital by setting up
checkpoints.
On Friday, the army chief gave the Prime Minister a 24-hour
ultimatum.
Fiji, a South Pacific nation of about 900,000 people, consists
of 800-plus volcanic and coral islands that have the country enjoy
a tropical climate and a prime destination for tourists. However,
racial and political tensions since 1987, including three coups,
have been an intermittent source of instability of the country.
(Xinhua News Agency December 4, 2006)
