Twenty one years ago on Friday July 27, 1990, 114 members of the Jamaat al Muslimeen, led by Yasin Abu Bakr and Bilaal Abdullah attempted to stage a coup d'état against the government of Trinidad and Tobago.They stormed the national Parliament while it was in session and took all legislators hostage, including Prime Minister Arthur N.R. Robinson and several members of his cabinet.
At the same time 42 insurgents stormed the state-owned Trinidad and Tobago Television (TTT), the only television station in the country. They also attacked and took control of Radio Trinidad, a privately-owned broadcasting company located next to TTT.
Bakr appeared on television at 6:00 pm - one hour before the scheduled evening TV newscast - and announced that his group had overthrown the Robinson government and that he was negotiating with the army.
The Trinidad and Tobago Defence Force and the Police responded by sealing off the area around the Parliament.With security forces trying to wrest control from the plotters and rescue Robinson and other parliamentarians, general law enforcement suffered and widespread looting and arson took place in Port of Spain and other parts of the East-West Corridor.
Acting President Emmanuel Carter responded to the crisis by declaring a state of emergency and imposing martial Law.
By Sunday night the army took control of the TTT transmitter on Cumberland Hill in Port of Spain and silenced the station.
Winston Dookeran, who was among the hostages, was allowed to leave to work out the details of the transfer of power to the insurrectionists. He set up office in the Trinidad Hilton from where he took charge and helped negotiate an end to the crisis.
The insurgents surrendered on August 1 after they were offered amnesty. They were taken into custody, tried for treason and convicted.
But the Court of Appeal upheld the amnesty offered to secure their surrender and they were released. The Privy Council later invalidated the amnesty, but the state never rearrested them.
The six-day nightmare saw properties torched and losses running into tens of millions of dollars as a result of the widespread looting and property damage. By the time it was over more than 30 people were dead, including the Member of Parliament for Diego Martin Central, Leo Des Vignes.
The then opposition leader, Patrick Manning, had left the House of Representatives just before the attack. Also absent was Basdeo Panday, who was at that time sitting as part of the opposition after falling out with the government and resigning his job as foreign minister.
Panday had been recuperating from cardiac surgery and had gone home to rest. When reporters called him at home to get his comment on what had happened, he told them, "wake me when it is over." Manning dismissed the uprising as "a family squabble".
Bakr has stated more than once that he had forewarned both of them of his plans, a charge they have always denied.
One year later in 1991 the National Alliance for Reconstruction (NAR) government that swept the People's National Movement (PNM) from office in a lopsided 33-3 victory in 1986, was trashed in general election.
The PNM returned to office with a new leader, Patrick Manning, who until recently headed the party and the Trinidad and Tobago government. The NAR was wiped out, remaining just a rump party in Tobago as it had been before the "one-love" movement brought it together in an alliance with other parties opposed to the PNM government, including Panday's United Labour Front (ULF).
Panday and some members of his former ULF left NAR, formed a new party - the United National Congress (UNC) - and contested the 1991 election and became the official opposition.
Both the PNM administration under Manning and Panday's UNC administration rejected calls for an inquiry. Now the People's Partnership government under the leadership of Kamla Persad-Bissessar has established a probe at which some starting evidence is being presented.
Perhaps it will bring closure to one of the darkest episodes in the history of Trinidad and Tobago.
Suggested reading:New York Times: Rebels in Trinidad set premier free...
Raffique Shah: The 1990 Muslimeen coup - a personal account
BBC report by Debbie Ransome: Trinidad attempted coup - 15 years on
Dr Selwyn Ryan: The Muslimeen Grab for Power - amazon.com
Raoul Pantin: Days of Wrath: The 1990 coup in Trinidad and Tobago available in paperback from amazon.com
TIME magazine account of the coup
CBS report: Trinidad islamic group under scrutiny
Report: Privy Council rules against T&T Muslimeen
Neville Duncan: The Muslimeen Revolt
2 comments:
Some clarification. Before the merger there was no NAR. ULF, ONR (Organisation for National Reconstruction)formed by Karl Hudson Phillips and DAC (Democratic Action Co) led by ANR Robinson merged to form the National Alliance for Reconstruction. Not sure if Tapia was a part.
TAPIA was also involved. NAR was really a combination of all the established opposition groups. ONR had fought as a new independent party in 1981 and Panday, Robinson and Best has a loose alliance in that election where each group was allocated seats to ensure that only one of the alliance parties was in each constituency. In the end Karl and ONR got more than 91,000 votes and won no seat although it had the highest percentage of the vote and highest number after the PNM. The combined opposition alliance had fewer votes than the ONR but won 12 seats.
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