PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad, CMC – Trinidad and Tobago is marking the 35th anniversary of a failed coup by a group of Muslim fundamentalists with Prime Minister Kamla Persad Bissessar saying, “Let us be clear, the perpetrators of July 1990 were not patriots.
“They did more than sow fear, death, and chaos – they launched an unprecedented assault on our Constitution, the rule of law, and the very soul of our democracy,” she said in a message marking the occasion.
The Jamaat al Muslimeen group, led by Yasin Abu Bakr, sought to overthrow the then-ANR Robinson government by launching simultaneous attacks on the Parliament and the state-owned Trinidad and Tobago Television (TTT).
The group he’d held Robinson and other government officials hostage in the Parliament over six days before the insurgents surrendered. They were charged with treason, but were ordered released by the Court of Appeal.
One legislator, Leo Des Vignes, was among the 24 people killed during the coup. Many more were injured.
In her statement, Prime Minister Persad Bissessar said it should be made clear that “the perpetrators of July 1990 were not patriots.
“The true patriots defended the Constitution and safeguarded our Republic, some at the cost of their lives, others bearing wounds and trauma to this day. Today, we pause to honour”.
She recalled that among those killed were a special reserve policeman, Solomon McLeod, Assistant Superintendent of Police, Roger George, security officers Mervyn Teague and Malcolm Basanta, and parliamentary clerk Lorraine Caballero.
She said Robinson, the national security minister, and Selwyn Richardson were among others held hostage in the Red House (Parliament), but never capitulated in the face of death.
“For families who lost loved ones, know that Trinidad and Tobago has never forgotten your grief. For the survivors, we salute all who chose resilience over rage, unity over division, and hope over despair”.
She said that in 2010, when she was first sworn in as the head of a coalition People’s Partnership government, it “historically empanelled the Commission of Enquiry chaired by Sir David Simmons, QC. ”
In its report, the Commission noted that “the leaders of the insurrection were Muslim fundamentalists who purported to follow the Qur’an literally. One group blew up the Headquarters of the Police Service on St. Vincent Street, murdering in the process a young Police Officer, Solomon McLeod.
“Another group, led by Mr. Bilaal Abdullah, invaded the Parliament of Trinidad and Tobago while it was in session. They perpetrated wanton acts of destruction of the Parliamentary Chamber and proceeded to hold hostage most of the Parliamentarians who were in the Chamber.”
Persad Bissessar stated that on March 14, 2014, she presented the four-volume report in Parliament and waived confidentiality on its final chapter, as transparency is the path to closure.
“Guided by its recommendations, we strengthened our national security architecture and integrated the key findings into study programmes at our schools and universities — work paused when we demitted office in 2015.”
She said three months after being returned to government after a near 10-year absence, “I reaffirm my government’s commitment to update that programme and consult on a fitting national memorial to the fallen, the injured, and the defenders.
“Indeed, the last decade of unprecedented crime and violence under the previous regime has only sharpened the lessons of 1990: crisis leadership must be strong and coordinated; personal bias and rivalry must not eclipse accountability; and the rule of law remains our strongest shield.
“Today’s deleterious national security threats — transnational crime, digital disinformation, economic strain — remind us that “the price of democracy is eternal vigilance.”
Prime Minister Persad Bissessar said that they require “a powerful security ethos of transparency, trust and coordinated cooperation that produces intelligence, enables prevention and protects our people. Every citizen is a vital link in that chain.
“Let this 35th anniversary of our darkest democratic hour, therefore, renew our commitment to those principles and the supremacy of law. Let its memory steel our resolve to ensure that in Trinidad and Tobago, power will always change hands by ballots, not bullets; debate may be fierce but will remain peaceful; diversity will always be our strength, not our fault line; and the love of liberty will forever guide us toward progress and prosperity,” she added.
Economist Winston Dookeran, a senior member of the National Alliance for Reconstruction (NAR) administration who acted as prime minister during the failed coup, told the Newsday newspaper on Sunday that “the factors that the commentators have said gave rise to the attempted coup, I don’t believe those factors were relevant.
“The argument that was put was that it had to do with the economic conditions at the time and the government’s inability to resolve that problem. I don’t think that had any real impact on the decision that was made to invade Parliament violently.”
and then 