Winston Dookeran on Tuesday told the Commission of Enquiry into the failed 1990 Muslimeen coup the document that Canon Knolly Clarke took to Parliament was a call for safe passage out for the hostages, not a call to replace the NAR Government.
The Finance Minister was Deputy Prime Minister at the time of the coup in 1990 and was one of the key people who helped negotiate an end to the siege.
He said the demands of the Muslimeen had changed from what they wanted on Jukly 27, the day they stormed the Red House and took MPs hostage. He added that the request for safe passage came after he realised that the demands had been altered.
"Earlier on that evening it was 'We have to form a new Government' by the time I left with my notes it was 'How do we get safe exit?' So I understood there was a change in the demands," he told commissioners.
Dookeran said when he was released he found out that the army was ready to invade the Parliament but he feared that would have meant more loss of lives. He said such a move, in his opinion, would have taken the country on a different path.
"I knew that at risk were the lives of those inside the Chamber, which was a concern to me as well. The mere fact to go that route, in my view, would have entered a whole new dimension to the political history of Trinidad and Tobago," he said.
Dookeran said it was at that point that he decided to explore "how we could resolve the matter without a further assault."
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