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Fiji PM says coup is 'imminent' Fiji PM says coup is 'imminent'
(20 minutes later)
Fiji's prime minister has told the BBC that he expects to be taken into custody by the army, amid speculation the country is on the brink of a coup.Fiji's prime minister has told the BBC that he expects to be taken into custody by the army, amid speculation the country is on the brink of a coup.
Army troops are reported to have surrounded Laisenia Qarase's complex in the capital, Suva. Heavily armed troops have surrounded Laisenia Qarase's complex in the Fijian capital, Suva.
Mr Qarase says he is refusing to stand down and assumes he and his family will shortly be taken into custody. Military chief Cmdr Frank Bainimarama has repeatedly threatened to unseat Mr Qarase over plans to grant amnesty to those behind a coup in 2000.
Military commander Frank Bainimarama, unhappy with Mr Qarase, has repeatedly threatened to unseat his government. Mr Qarase says he assumes he will shortly be taken into custody.
"I am at home but there are soldiers at the gate negotiating their way to come in," Mr Qarase said in an interview with the BBC. No resignation
"The information is that they want to take me out to an island location not too far from the capital." "I am at home but there are soldiers at the gate negotiating their way to come in," Mr Qarase said in an interview with the BBC on Tuesday morning.
"If they want to carry out an illegal act, that is their choice," he said, "but I will not resign."
He said Fiji's powerful South Pacific neighbours Australia and New Zealand had "flatly said no" to sending military support after the Fijian police were disarmed on Monday.
Some government ministers - who complained that their vehicles had been seized - arrived at the house on Tuesday for meetings.
The BBC's Phil Mercer, in Suva, says several truckloads of troops in combat gear have now converged on street near the prime minister's residence.
Checkpoints have already been set up across the capital in what Mr Qarase described as a "strangling of the government of the day."
'Dire consequences''Dire consequences'
The BBC's Phil Mercer, in Suva, says several truckloads of heavily-armed troops have converged on the area. Our correspondent says the prime minister's official car has been confiscated but no attempt has yet been made to force entry into his compound.
He says the prime minister's official car has been confiscated. Cmdr Bainimarama is angry at the way Mr Qarase has handled the aftermath of a coup in 2000, offering an amnesty to those responsible.
Mr Bainimarama is angry at the way Mr Qarase has handled the aftermath of a coup in 2000, offering an amnesty to those responsible. Mr Qarase says that at least 800 of those involved have already been convicted.
Australia, Britain and New Zealand have warned their citizens to stay away from Fiji. Australia, Britain and New Zealand have advised their citizens to stay away from the tourism-dependent former British colony.
They have also warned of dire social and economic consequences if the country experiences another coup. They have also warned of dire social, economic and diplomatic consequences if the military carries out a further coup.
The South Pacific island state has seen three coups in the last twenty years.