Tuesday, April 10, 2012

Bakr's son says it's not fair for his father to testify at enquiry into failed 1990 coup

The chairman of the commission investigating the failed 1990 Muslimeen coup has ordered the commission's chief counsel to send a letter to the leader of the coup, giving Imam Yasin Abu Bakr 14 days to respond.

However, Bakr's son, Fuad Abu Bakr, is saying it's not fair to have his father appear before the commission.

The younger Bakr told local media his father's appreance before the commission would prejudice Bakr's terrorism trial, which is yet to begin. 

Bakr made his case on a locala radio station. He said a "jury is going to sit on the matter and you can't escape the fact it sensationalises the entire environment about the event, and that will prejudice the matter".

The Muslimeen leader is facing charges of promoting a terrorist act, sedition and four other offences arising out of a sermon he delivered in November 2005. The trial was first postponed due to adverse publicity of the matter and since then the trial has been on hold because Bakr has been ill.

Last week, commission chairman Sir David Simmons told lead counsel Avory Sinanan to write Bakr and give him the 14-day deadline to appear before the commission.

Sinanan pointed out that he had invited Bakr on three occasions to testify. He said Bakr has not responded to the letters.

Bakr led the uprising in 1990, taking over the Parliament and holding several MPs hostage, including the PM at the time, ANR Robinson and several cabinet ministers. Some of the coup plotters also took control of the country's state-owned television station from where they announced that they had taken over the government.

The uprising was put down in six days. There had been an orgy of looting and violence in which 24 people were killed, including legislator, Leo Des Vignes. Bakr and his group were found guilty of treason but were set free by the Court of Appeal on the grounds that they surrendered on the basis of an offer of amnesty.

However, Trinidad & Tobago's highest and final court of appeal - the Privy Council in London - later invalidated the amnesty. Despite that the government never pursued the matter against the Muslimeen.

Successive governments refused to deal with the matter. However during the 2010 election campaign the People's Partnership promised to set up the inquiry, which was promptly done when Kamla Persad-Bissessar became Prime Minister. 

She said the probe was necessary "to bring finality to this matter" and to deal with the fact "that there were varying degrees and categories of trauma experienced by citizens in different institutions directly and indirectly".

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Jai & Sero

Jai & Sero

Our family at home in Toronto 2008

Our family at home in Toronto 2008
Amit, Heather, Fuzz, Aj, Jiv, Shiva, Rampa, Sero, Jai