Fiji authorities have made public statements to hose down widespread rumours of another coup, as civil society groups started to warn their members to prepare for unrest.
Others have scotched the rumours and blamed failed politicians for stoking fear.
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Today, Fiji's military has taken to the streets of the capital, Suva. It appears to be only a drill, outside the barracks, but one person posted a photo on Facebook expressing fear at the show of force, amid the talk of an imminent coup.
Tupou Draunidalo. Photo: RNZ
Tupou Draunidalo, a lawyer and former MP, said rumours come and go, but this one somehow had more of an impact, shutting down some businesses for the day.
She said the fact that past coup-plotters still dominate the Fiji parliament gave more weight to the fears.
The country's Prime Minister, Frank Bainimarama, was responsible for the 2006 coup, while the opposition leader, Sitiveni Rabuka, led the two original coups in 1987.
"I've just seen pictures that people have sent me, of towns being empty, there were some of, early in the morning, shops being closed, on what used to be very busy in the mornings," she said.
"You can't blame them when you've got all these coup people involved. So they live in fear when they hear that sort of thing. They are just not confident, they are not going to send their kids to school, businesses close, because Fiji has a history."
Memo from the Fiji Muslim League Photo: RNZ
On Friday, the Fiji Muslim League sent a memo urging its schools and places to worship to take appropriate security measures today.
But president of the Masjid Ul-Halil Mosque in Lautoka, Abu-Bakr Sadiq Koya, said he was confident Fiji's security forces would keep them safe.
"Everybody's talking about that something will happen. People are talking about it but I know it is bullshit," he said.
"Because nobody can do anything with the security. The Fiji government, the military and the police are very strong here in Fiji. It is not so easy for anybody to take any action here."
Photo: RNZ
The security forces were forced to react, posting messages online to reassure the community that there was nothing to worry about.
The authorities are ultra-sensitive to sedition, jailing an opposition MP and another party's president last year for spraypainting anti-government graffiti on billboards.
The matter was eventually thrown out at a re-trial.
In 2017, 14 people were jailed for sedition, for signing a document for the formation of an independent Christian state.
And two years earlier, a group of 70 people were charged - some of them were allegedly involved in military-style training.
Fiji Police. Photo: RNZ
Over the weekend The Fiji Times reported about 50 police officers marched through the main streets of Lautoka, accompanied by motorcycles and patrol vehicles.
The Deputy Secretary for the Ministry of Defence and National Security, Ilai Moceica, denied the march had anything to do with the rumours of civil disturbances.
"There's nothing happening that people should be afraid of," he said.
"The police, the security forces at this time, everything's normal. They've assured the people of Fiji that everything's normal. And we can confirm that everything's normal from the Ministry of Defence and National Security."
Earlier Police spokeswoman Ana Naisoro told the Fiji Times newspaper that the march was part of an "operational readiness check".
Tupou Draunidalo said the Government will not be concerned about the rumours, especially as it has the military onside, but she said it will be upset at the negative impact on businesses and investor confidence in the country.
"Supremely confident, no worries whatsoever, they joke about it, I think" she said.
"But the only thing that would upset them is the business climate. As far as I know from my own contacts the military has always been fully behind this Government. They've improved their living conditions and working conditions a great deal, which I think is fair."
Feroz Gulam Mohammed. Photo: RNZ
A former minor political party candidate Feroz Gulam Mohammed, posted a message online saying it's the perfect time for a coup, as the prime minister, Frank Bainimarama and Defence Minister Inia Seruiratu are in New York attending the United Nations Climate Summit.
Those comments have also prompted a police investigation.
The Acting Police Commissioner Rusiate Tudravu, is also out of the country and wouldn't comment to Checkpoint.
