YAREN – There have been more arrests off opposition politicians on the tiny Pacific island nation of Nauru amid fears the current government is fast becoming Pacific’s newest dictatorship.

Two Nauruan opposition MPs, Squire Jeremiah and Sprent Dabwido, appear to have been arrested, according to a report from the ABC quoting one of the MPs’ supporters.

Opposition supporter Lockley Denuga – who himself was earlier detained by police – said police arrived at Squire’s home on Friday afternoon.

“We were sitting outside and the police came and they issued the warrant and Sprent and Squire came out and they were taken down to the police station,” Denuga told Radio Australia’s Pacific Beat yesterday by telephone from Nauru.

Denuga said opposition supporters were gathered at Jeremiah’s house when police arrived.

“The people were very angry, at first. But Squire and Sprent came out and said, ‘no violence – we’ll go peacefully’.”

Nauru authorities have not confirmed reports of the arrests.

Earlier, Jeremiah said people were living in fear on Nauru as the Pacific nation’s government continues its crackdown on dissent.

He said he was expecting to be detained after waking Friday morning to multiple text messages warning him there was a warrant out for his arrest.

The unrest on the island goes back to Tuesday when hundreds of Nauruans staged a protest outide parliament and called on the government to resign over the indefinite suspension of five opposition MPs from parliament since mid-2014.

They were also protresting over a recent crackdown on free speech including new laws relating to criticism of the government, the banning of Facebook, and recent corruption allegations aired by the ABC aimed at Nauru’s Presdient Baron Waqa, Justice Minister David Adeang and other government MPs.

Leaked emails allegedly show Waqa and Adeang solicited corrupt payments from the Australian-based phosphate mining company, Getax.

Opposition MP Jeremiah said the frustrations aired at the rally outside parliament on Tuesday– which President Waqa called a riot – were driving a wedge between the people of Nauru.

“People are very frustrated, angry, and on the other side people are living in fear. This is the first time in history we have had this kind of situation. I just don’t know what will happen,” he said.

“I am not surprised because this government is doing the same thing since they got into power – intimidating people, using methods to intimidate people where they put us in fear.

“We are all living in fear right now as we speak. We just feel this is not our home anymore.”

A statement released by the Nauru government on Tuesday named Jeremiah and the most recent former president and now opposition MP, Dabwido, and as being “involved in the act of lawlessness”.

It stated that Dabwido and Jeremiah “were originally suspended for prior acts of violence and vandalism inside the parliament”.

Nauru MPs Matthew Batsiua, Roland Kun and Kieren Keke, along with Jeremiah and Dabwido, have not been permitted to take their seats in parliament since June 2014.

At the time, the speaker of Nauru’s parliament reportedly accused the five of “high treason” for speaking to the international media.

Kun, who was not at the rally but spoke to the ABC recently on allegations of corruption against the president and justice minister, was removed from a flight departing Nauru this week after having his passport cancelled by authorities.

A statement from the government said it “was appalled and disgusted” by what it termed a “riot” outside its parliament house on Tuesday this week.

A video posted on social media showed a scuffle breaking out as hundreds of protesters chanted outside the island’s parliament.

Nauru’s secretary for justice and border control, Lionel Aingimea, said he expected many more people to be arrested and charged over the protest.

Aingimea said police were still investigating and many more people would be arrested and charged.

“Definitely riot, definitely unlawful assembly, definitely assault,” he said of the likely charges.

The secretary for justice and border control also said if any Nauru public servants took part in the protest they would lose their jobs.