A Military Man Takes Charge in Fiji

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Bainimarama's soldiers shut down Fiji's Parliament in the middle of a debate on the budget. Jona Senilagakali, a doctor new to politics, was sworn in as interim prime minister. In addition, soldiers arrested the acting head of the country's police force, Deputy Commissioner Moses Driver, after he issued a firm statement saying police would not be cooperating with the Army. By nightfall, 10-man military checkpoints with makeshift anti-tire spike boards were positioned at major access roads to Suva's business district. The soldiers, clad in body armor and helmets, but without magazines in their automatic rifles, attempted to elicit friendly waves from passing motorists; few people responded, as they battled heavy traffic.

Bainimarama still has plenty of enemies. An officer says the Commander received numerous death threats before the coup, and there had been fear in the military's higher ranks that he has again been targeted for assassination. Bainimarama is now constantly shadowed by eight bodyguards in bulletproof vests. There were also rumors before Tuesday's coup that some senior officers wanted the Commander removed. "There is a split in the ranks as well," one officer told TIME. But such talk seems fanciful for now.

Fiji's neighbors, including the governments of Australia, New Zealand and Papua New Guinea, condemned the coup, though Australia's Prime Minister John Howard declined a request from Qarase for military intervention by Canberra. "I exhort those responsible for this coup, not to do any physical harm to anybody in the properly elected Government of Fiji," Howard said Tuesday. "There will be long international memories about this if that occurs." Australia's foreign minister Alexander Downer urged Fijians to use civil disobedience.

A military officer who declined to be named told TIME on Wednesday evening that any attempt by citizens to protest would probably be met with force. Although most Suva stores were open and business owners had started removing protective boards that had been placed over display windows, the city's streets were virtually deserted.