Fiji army commander Commodore Voreqe Bainimarama Thursday gave the Qarase Government the deadline of Friday afternoon to meet all his demands and threatened "a peaceful transition" if that does not happen.

According to Fiji Times, a Suva-based daily newspaper, the army chief called on in a press conference the Government to "join a clean-up campaign" the military was organizing or "the army will do it for them."

Bainimarama's comments come hours after Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase made concessions on key demands by the military.

The demands, which the army terms "non-negotiable," include withdrawal of three controversial land legislations the Qarase government hopes to introduce in Parliament; dropping of all investigations against the army commander; termination of Police Commissioner Andrew Hughes' contract and the disbanding of the armed Police Tactical Response Division; a review of the role of the Native Land Trust Boards tourism arm and the expulsion from government of everyone suspected of involvement in the events of 2000.

The army chief said that unless the Government meets all of the army's demands fully, the Government -- all Cabinet ministers and advisers -- should resign.

"He only has the next 24 hours to clean up his Government's act. If they don't, then I will do it," Bainimarama also told Fijilive, a local news service, in an interview just before Qarase's state of the nation address.

Bainimarama earlier said he had walked out in the middle of a crisis meeting arranged by the New Zealand Government in Wellington Wednesday because "Qarase had disregarded all of the military's demands."

He said his meeting was "a flop" and the army's clean up campaign would be carried out "in a couple of days."

From a contradictory stand, Qarase in his national address Thursday said his meeting with Bainimarama "was cordial" and tagged it a successful trip.

Qarase said in the statement that progress was made "towards a peaceful and legal settlement of the differences" between the Government and the army.

Condition now in Suva is quite stable. A Chinese restaurant owner told Xinhua he might end business earlier this evening and " prepare for something special tomorrow."

Fei Mingxing, political counselor of the Chinese Embassy in Suva, told Xinhua "the embassy works normally, and the situation has been monitored closely."

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.

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 be 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.

Source: Xinhua