the institution he worked for." However, Opposition Leader Mahendra Chaudhry, who had been critical of Bainimarama in the past, supported him this time, saying that the reason why Bainimarama opposed the legislation was that he understood what it was really about. Vosanibola warns Bainimarama On 9 June, Vosanibola reacted to warnings from Bainimarama that the military might be forced to "open up" by reiterating his previous threats to discipline Bainimarama if he failed to act in accordance with government policy and submit any complaints through the correct channels. On 20 June, the Fiji Times reported that "a reliable source" close to the government had accused President Ratu Josefa Iloilo, as the Military Commander-in-Chief, of refusing repeated requests from Vosanibola to institute disciplinary measures against Bainimarama. The source cited Section 96 of the Constitution, which requires the President to act on the advice of the appropriate Cabinet Minister, in this case the Home Affairs Minister, and accused him of refusing to do so. This, he said, was making the Minister look foolish and incompetent. On 30 June, Attorney-General Qoriniasi Bale said that there was no problem between the government and the military, but added, "The only problem is an army leadership that thinks it rules the Government when it is supposed to be the other way around." He claimed that measures were underway to resolve the dispute. Bale was responding to concerns raised by the Nadroga-Navosa Provincial Council about the government's passage of controversial legislation in the face of opposition from the military, as well as from foreign governments. Home Affairs Minister Vosanibola finally admitted on 13 July that the government was constitutionally powerless to do anything to discipline the Military commander. He said that the government was very concerned about Bainimarama's behaviour, and accused the media of exacerbating the tensions. "You (the media) can play a major role and come to us first instead of coming to us after highlighting what he (Bainimarama) has said," Vosanibola told the Fiji Times. On 15 July, Vosanibola appeared to backtrack somewhat, saying that the government was looking at disciplinary options short of removing the commander from his position. According to the Fiji Times, he admitted having paid several visits to President Iloilo over the matter. Alleged offer to form pro-government mercenary force Also on 15 July, the Fiji Sun newspaper quoted a former soldier, who claims to be an Israeli-trained Fijian security officer,