SUVA, Fiji (4 Dec 2006) -- Troops in Fiji have disarmed the island nation's only armed police unit in what could be the first step in a threatened military coup. The troops were seen loading weapons onto army vehicles at the offices of the police Tactical Response Unit (TRU) outside Suva, some three hours after they arrived asking to inspect the arms. There was no apparent opposition from the police. About a dozen troops in battle dress have also surrounded an old armoury inside the police training academy complex at Nasova, near Government House in downtown Suva, where a small number of weapons are kept. There are also reports that a military checkpoint has been set up at Sawani between Suva and Naitasiri, where Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase is meeting with the Naitasiri provincial council today. That has sparked speculation the military may move to detain Qarase when he returns from Naitasiri, where the council is a strong supporter of Qarase's SDL party. Earlier, Police Commissioner Moses Driver said the visit by military officers to the TRU compound was not a takeover. "It is a just a friendly visit," Driver said, dismissing reports the military had taken control of the compound as inaccurate. "There is no confrontation of any sort." Police later said the troops had been given permission to view the weapons - mainly handguns and low-velocity firearms. Police chiefs had ordered "that no officer from the Fiji police is to confront armed soldiers and we stand by that directive", a police statement said. Military spokesman Major Neumi Leweni said he did not want to comment ahead of a press conference by military commander Frank Bainimarama, scheduled for later today. Bainimarama, who has vowed to force Qarase from power in a "peaceful transition" if he does not resign of his own accord, is expected to make his address at 6pm local time (1700 AEDT). Bainimarama set a deadline of midday Friday for the government to bow to demands which include scrapping controversial legislation and ending a police investigation into possible sedition charges against him. Australia's Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said Fiji's military was trying to "slowly take control" as there was a split in its ranks over whether to stage a coup. "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," Downer told Australian radio. "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. | 
