The dismissing of Lieutenant Colonel Jone Baledrokadroka, the Acting Land Force Commander, for alleged insubordination on 12 January 2006 was coupled with unusual deployments of troops and naval vessels.
Minister Vosanibola finally reacted to the Military's demands on 1 January 2006, saying that their stated intention to take over the office of the Home Affairs Chief Executive was unlawful.
Police Commissioner Andrew Hughes delivered a strongly worded attack on foreign media, particularly New Zealand television and newspapers, on 18 January, saying that they had orchestrated and exaggerated the crisis.
Among the actions that Beddoes cited as showing the government's support for coup-sympathizers were the secret inquiry which cleared former Police Commissioner Isikia Savua of allegations made against him by former President Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara, the appointment of several coup suspects - including Savua - as ambassadors, the commuting of the death sentence against coup frontman George Speight, and allowing Cabinet Ministers to remain in office while awaiting and standing trial for coup-related offences.
The controversial Reconciliation, Tolerance, and Unity Bill, authorizing a Commission to compensate victims and pardon perpetrators of the coup, was another example of the government's bias, which had antagonized the Military, Beddoes said.
Fiji Labour Party (FLP) spokesman Lekh Ram Vayeshnoi said that Bainimarama's frustration with the government, and with the delay of the court martial, was understandable.
Home Affairs Minister Vosanibola reported her comments to the police, and called for her to be required to answer to charges of incitement and of threatening public order.
The next day, FLP spokespeople declined to comment on unusual troop deployments at Suva's Queen Elizabeth Barracks, referring all questions to Deputy Leader Poseci Bune, who was away in the northern town of Savusavu.
As "evidence," he cited an alleged plot to depose Ratu Josefa Iloilo from the presidency in 2000, which Bainimarama, who implicated Qarase, claimed to have foiled.
He pointed to the selective releasing of coup-convicts from prison, the controversial Reconciliation, Tolerance, and Unity Bill providing for amnesty to be granted to coup convicts, and the protracted process of commissioning of a Judge Advocate to oversee a court martial retrial.
The truce brokered by Vice-President Madraiwiwi at a crisis meeting between the Prime Minister and the Military Commander that morning would not solve the impasse, he said, because the lines had already been drawn over the Unity Bill.
Former Military Commander Major-General Ratu Epeli Ganilau, who now leads the National Alliance Party, initially reserved comment, saying that with Vice-President Madraiwiwi mediating, it seemed best to leave it to him to come up with a solution.
Rae was joined on 9 January by the party leader, Raman Pratap Singh, who said in response to the latest threat from the Military to remove the government from power that the NFP was totally opposed to the notion of a coup.
On 13 January, the NFP's Senior Vice-President Pramod Chand condemned the Fiji Labour Party for offering support to the Military to depose the government.
Former Cabinet Minister Tupeni Baba, who was held as a hostage in the 2000 coup crisis, said on 13 January that he saw the situation as alarming, and saw the reassurances given by the government and the Military that there was no threat to stability, as not going far enough.
Reacting to the latest Military threat to take control of the country, ruling Soqosoqo Duavata ni Lewenivanua (SDL) General Secretary Jale Baba reiterated an earlier challenge to Commodore Bainimarama, saying that if he thought he could do a better job than the government, he should join a political party and seek power through the ballot box.
Caine, who served under the late Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara, said on 18 January that the Prime Minister was responsible 24 hours a day for the country, and should be seen to be in charge in the event of a crisis.
The reform of the Agriculture, Land, and Tenants Act was "the heart and soul of the Fijian people," he said, and the government's failure to pass it disqualified it from holding office.
Adi Ema Tagicakibau, a former politician who was held as a hostage by George Speight's gunmen during the 2000 crisis, said the present dispute was tearing Fijian society apart.
The Fiji Sun quoted her on 5 January as saying that failure to resolve the impasse would cause "irreparable damage" to the internal and long-term security of the country.
On 13 January, following a dramatic escalation in the tension over the preceding 48 hours, Yabaki said that the fate of the Military Commander should be up to the Acting President, Ratu Joni Madraiwiwi.
Fiji Women's Rights Movement Programme Manager Naeemah Khan also called on Bainimarama to refrain from taking matters into his own hands.
Taito Waradi, President of the Fiji Chamber of Commerce, said on 13 January that any failure on the part of the government to create a stable environment would undermine the confidence of investors.
The Sugar Cane Growers Council Chief Executive Officer Jagannath Sami declared on 15 January that democracy and the rule of law needed to be respected, even if the government was not to everybody's liking.
"You can't run a country if you allow the civil service, the military, the police to start dictating to a democratically elected government.
Australian National University academic Brij Lal, who was one of the authors of the Fijian Constitution, said on 12 January that the Military needed to resolve its concerns without creating security fears.
Muslim Jammaat Fiji Vice-President Tahir Munshi said on 18 January that both parties to the dispute needed to set out their differences, and make the effort to resolve them.
He commended Commodore Bainimarama for standing by his words to bring justice and freedom to Fiji, but now was the time to come together and "create a good atmosphere of love," he said.
The bodyguards accompanying the Commander gave the impression that he was defending himself rather than the nation, Koroi told the Fiji Sun, declaring that Lieutenant Colonel Jone Baledrokadroka had been right to confront him.
In the wake of the sudden worsening of the crisis on 11–12 January, the Australian High Commission advised its nationals in Fiji to monitor the situation carefully and take precautions.