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| Former PM Robinson lays a wreath on the anniversary of the coup; Inset: Coup Leader Abu bakr surrenders |
The inquiry in the failed July 1990 coup in Trinidad and Tobago begins on Monday.
Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar and Congress of the People Leader Winston Dookeran had both pledged during the 2010 general election campaign to appoint a commission to probe the uprising by the Jamaat al Muslieem.
On July 22 Persad-Bissessar made good on the promise.
The commission is under the chairmanship of Sir David Simmons, former Chief Justice of Barbados and includes management consultant Sir Richard Cheltenham, Dr Haffizool Ali Mohammed, and former senators Dr Eastlyn Mc Kenzie and Diana Mahabir-Wyatt.
Sir David said the inquiry will also form part of an exercise to determine if the attempted coup was caused by, “the consequences of any historical social, economic, political and other factors.”
The hearings will be held in one of the courtrooms of the Caribbean Court of Appeal (CCJ) and will be carried live on local television.
On July 27 1990 Muslimeen leader Imam Yasin Abu Bakr and 113 insurrectionists simultaneous stormed Parliament, the state-owned Trinidad and Tobago Television (TTT) and Radio Trinidad, which was next-door to TTT, and announced that they had taken control of the country.
Over the next six days, parts of the city of Port of Spain were destroyed by arsonists and looters. The Prime Minister at the time, A.N.R.Robinson, who was held hostage in Parliament by the Muslimeen group, refused to cooperate and ordered the protective service to attack with "full force".
They plotters shot Robinson in his foot. At least 24 people were killing during the armed uprising, including MP Leo Des Vignes and two police officers.
Dookeran, who was a senior cabinet minister at the time, took control of the government and helped negotiate the end of the uprising along with acting president at the time Emmanuel Carter.
Bakr and his Muslimeen members surrendered and were tried for treason. However they were late freed on a legal technicality.
Sir David has said although the inquiry is intended to examine the amnesty granted to the members of the Jamaat al Muslimeen, it also will examine the role of other parties involved.
He said at the end, recommendations would be made on “policies, measures, mechanisms and systems” necessary to detect and prevent any such future insurrection."
The man who led the coup, Abu Bakr, is on record as saying he is looking forward to telling the commission about everything that happened.
Both Prime Ministers since the coup - Basdeo Panday and Patrick Manning - refused calls for an inquiry. None of them was present at the time the Parliament was stormed in 1990.
When reporters asked Manning for a comment he called it "a family squabble". And Panday told journalists, "Wake me when it's over".
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