Muslimeen witness said Manning made a deal with Bakr

A member of the Jamaat-al-Muslimeen told the commission of inquiry into the failed 1990 coup the group supported the People's National Movement (PNM) in the 2002 general election. He said the party made a number of promises in return for the Muslimeen's help to win the election.

Kala Akii-Bua said when the PNM won Prime Minister Patrick Manning tried to honour the main promise to provide land at Mucurapo to the Muslimeen but some members of cabinet did not approve. 

He said when Manning told Muslimeen leader Iman Yasin Abu Bakr that he wanted to give the Jamaat-al-Muslimeen title to the land at Mucurapo Road a number of persons in his Cabinet put pressure on him not to do it.

He also claimed that Manning told Bakr to watch the television newscast to see who were the persons who objected. The five persons were Keith Rowley, John Rahael, Fitzgerald Hinds, Camille Robinson-Regis and the late Ken Valley, he said.

Akii-Bua said he knew all these details because he accompanied Bakr during most of his discussions with political figures in the years following the coup. 

Akii-Bua said "in all fairness", Manning tried to bring closure to the issue. However he said Rahael did not want to address the matter of the land.

He said Rahael told the Muslimeen that the Prime Minister (Manning) is just one man in the Cabinet. He said Rahael told the Muslimeen in order for them to get the land "allyuh have to cut off my right hand and left foot or my left foot and right hand."

Akii-Bua said that incensed Manning, who said: "I will demonstrate that I am the Prime Minister of this country". He said that's when Manning decided to settle the land matter but had to eventually back down because he ran into opposition from the cabinet.

The witness said the Jamaat continued to support the PNM up to 2007, but they withdrew that support in 2010.

While the Muslimeen member praised Manning for trying to help he said the same is not true of the present administration, explaining that he was fired from his URP job as soon as the new government took office.

Akii-Bua also said the Muslimeen supported the UNC in the 1995 election partly because of Ramesh Lawrence Maharaj, who was the Jamaat's attorney.

He said during his term as Prime Minister Basdeo Panday, like Manning tried to settle the land matter, but he abandoned the idea because of the amount of criticism that he got.

He said the Jamaat turned to the PNM because it felt betrayed by the Panday UNC.