Coup underway in Fiji – appears to be by stealth

Reports from Fiji on Monday evening reveal that Fiji’s military has disarmed the country’s police force and thrown up roadblocks around the capital on Monday in what Australia believes is a coup by stealth.

Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase was in home in the capital, Suva, on Monday night after armed soldiers stopped him from trying to see the President, with Qarase’s supporters questioning how loyal the President Ratu Josefa Iloilo is to the Government after he continued to hold talks with Commodore Frank Bainimarama during the military chief’s ongoing threats to oust the Government.

Heavily armed soldiers have entered two police compounds in and around Suva and seized the weapons of Fiji’s only armed police unit, with in a brief press conference, Bainimarama saying that the police arsenal was seized to prevent “dissidents” from using them against his soldiers, adding, “We would not want to see a situation whereby the police and the military are opposed in an armed confrontation.”   He refused to say though whether he had seized control of the country, adding, “I don’t have any comments right now.”

Troops in battle gear were located across Suva, establishing a network of roadblocks and cutting off several roads into the city.

Armed soldiers were located outside the Presidential palace and on an access road that leads to the homes of Bainimarama, Vice-President Ratu Joni Madraiwiwi, and the secretariat of the Pacific Islands Forum.

Qarase had spent the morning in talks with the provincial council of Naitasiri, which is a strong supporter of the prime minister’s SDL party, but had to fly back to Suva to avoid a military roadblock that some feared had been set up to arrest him, soon after landing back in Suva, trying to see the President but soldiers turned him away.

Foreign Minister Alexander Downer referred to a split in the Fiji military’s ranks and resistance in some sectors to the tactics being pursued by Bainimarama, adding, “They are now reaching a point, the military, where they are trying to persuade the Prime Minister to stand down without actually mounting a coup,” he told ABC radio, adding, “My guess is that within the military there is a fair bit of resistance to these tactics and quite a lot of resistance to a coup.”  “There isn’t an inclination to mutiny against the commander, so it’s a torturously complicated situation.”

Australia said it feared the military was carrying out a stealthy power grab, moving slowly to take control without mounting a dramatic coup like the ones that wracked the country in 2000 and 1987 and despite the tensions, Mr Downer said there were no problems for Australians in Fiji, adding “We are hopeful the situation won’t reach a point where they would be endangered”, adding that Australian vessels remained on standby off Fiji’s coast if a full-scale evacuation was necessary.

Streets in Suva were quiet on Monday with many Fijians staying at home, despite the military’s assurances that residents have nothing to fear.

Bainimarama reiterated in a television interview on Sunday that if Qarase did not want to resign, “we will look for ways to obtain his resignation”, but Qarase has remained defiant saying he will call an emergency cabinet meeting on Tuesday to discuss the latest developments in a crisis that could result in Fiji’s fourth coup in 20 years.

Report by The Mole