Brooklyn print edition (PDF) - Caribbean Life

Coup maker to
testify in Trini probe
By Bert Wilkinson
He is not in the best of
health these days but the
man who tried to overthrow
the then government of
Prime Minister Ray Robinson
in Trinidad and Tobago
in July 1990 is preparing
to take the witness stand
to tell all he knows about
events leading up to the
bloody coup attempt more
than 20 years ago.
Yasin Abu Bakr, the
founding and longtime head
of the Jamaat al Muslimeen,
just weeks ago walked out
of a Trinidad courtroom as
a free man after a jury in his
sedition trial for demanding
Zakat payments from the
Muslim community with
menace to help the poor,
was split on whether he was
guilty or not. Authorities
say they are considering a
retrial.
But for now Bakr, nearly
70, is waiting to take the
witness stand as the yearlong
commission of inquiry
into the attempted coup on
the then administration of
Prime Minister Ray Robinson
nears an end and as the
country braces for the highlight
of sessions that are
sometimes ignored by the
local media as being routine
and pedantic.
No such platitudes are
expected next week when
the former policeman
takes to the witness stand
to explain how he and 113
other Muslimeen members,
school age boy members
included, decided it was
time to kick the Robinson-
Basdeo Panday coalition
government from office for
allegedly oppressing the
poor and for harassing Muslimeen
members.
The commission, led by
retired Barbados Chief Justice
David Simmons, has
also summoned several
former senior island judicial
officials to explain to the
commission the circumstances
that kept Bakr and
his rebels from life sentences
and the death penalty
through an amnesty that
was granted by high ranking
officials in the height of
the coup attempt.
Early indications are
that the commissioners will
devote the entire week to
Yasin Abu Bakr.
AP Photo/Shirley Bahadur
allow Bakr to testify as he
has already indicated that
he has a lot to say about
the reasons for trying to
overthrow an elected government
in the Caribbean
trade bloc.
The group had stormed
parliament while it was in
session, holding several legislators
hostage and shooting
Robinson in the leg because
he had refused to bow to
their demands including
orders to announce his resignation
while Bakr and his
men held journalists, businessmen
and other top officials
hostage at the state
television station and other
facilities.
More than 20 people were
killed, dozens injured and
large parts of commercial
Port of Spain burned to the
ground as well as looted during
the week of mayhem.
Two key reasons standout
for the coup, one had
to do with a major and still
unsettled row with authorities
over ownership of land
at Bakr’s headquarters in
the western section of the
capital and Bakr’s view that
the policies of Robinson’s
administration were oppressive
and unnecessary as the
island is rich in oil and gas
resources.
And so the commissioners
have said they are
anxious to hear both from
Bakr, head of the Jamaat al
Muslimeen and anyone connected
with the final days of
the week long trauma in TT
as the end of the hearings
are in sight.
T&T Chronology: 1962-2012
By Vinette K. Pryce
Trinidad & Tobago, the
twin islands in the Eastern
Caribbean gained independence
Aug. 31, 1962. Regarded
the Caribbean’s main stage for
the “Greatest Show On Earth”
-- the T&T Carnival, revelers
maintain a lexicon for supersized
parties that precede the
religious Lenten period. Creole
words to know during that
period are “Fete” and “Lime.”
In T&T, a fete is a party that
must include calypso, soca
and pan music, dancing and
native food. A lime is a casual
gathering of friends -- to hang
out, to pass the time, to chill.
But T&T is more than carnaval.
There are also plenty
of natural resources, including:
oil, a bird sanctuary, and
a pitch lake no other islands
can rival.
Through half a century,
T&T can also boast excellence
in athletics; whether the
sport is football or cricket, the
“Black, Red and White” flies
high on the Caribbean flagpole
of excellence.
Earlier this month, Keshorn
Walcott and Olympic
athletes representing the second
Caribbean nation to win
independence from Britain
demonstrated that Trinis rule
in javelin.
1962 – Trinidad and Tobago
leaves the West Indies Federation.
Following that historical
event, the twin islands gain
independence and is led into
self-rule by Prime Minister
Eric Williams.
1964 --World Steel Band
Music Festival debuts.
1967- Trinidad and Tobago
joins the Organization of
American States.
1968 -- Formal launch
of the National Joint Action
Committee by members of
the Guild of Undergraduates
at the St Augustine campus
of the University of the West
Indies. It is led by Geddes
Granger
1969 -- The birth of the
Black Power Movement
emerges following protests
against the arrest of West
Indian students at Sir George
Williams University in Montreal.
1970 - Government declares
a state of emergency after violent
protests by “Black Power”
supporters who demand a
solution to unemployment
and an end to foreign influence
over the economy.
President Obama in Port of Spain, Trinidad for a Summit
of the Americas on April 19, 2009, practices a
cricket stroke under the tutilege of West Indies batting
star Brian Lara at the Hilton Hotel.
White House photo by Pete Souza
Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II walks past a guard of honour
with Trinidad and Tobago’s President George Maxwell
Richards, right, at the Memorial Park in Port-of-
Spain, Trinidad, Thursday, Nov. 26, 2009.
AP Photo/Andres Leighton
1972 - State of emergency
lifted.
1975 - Strikes by workers in
the oil, sugar, transport and
electricity sectors paralyze the
economy.
1976 – Trinidad and Tobago
becomes a republic. Former
Governor-General Ellis Clarke
becomes president and Eric
Williams remains prime minister.
That year, Hasley Crawford
won the twin island’s first
gold in the 100 meter dash at
Olympics Games in Montreal,
Canada.
1977 – Janelle Commissiong
is crowned Miss Universe.
She is the first winner
of African descent to wear the
crown.
1978 – McCartha Linda
Sandy-Lewis AKA Calypso
Rose is the first female to
win the Trinidad Road March
competition. Born in Bethel,
Tobago, she won the Calypso
King competition and for the
first time in carnival competitions
the title is awarded
to a female. Now known as
the Calypso Monarch, the title
was changed in her honor.
1981—Eric Williams dies.
Tobago’s ANR Robinson
assumes leadership. George
Chambers becomes prime
minister. 1985 – Pope John
Paul visits T&T.
1986 - Tobago-based
National Alliance for Reconstruction
(NAR) headed by
Arthur Robinson wins the
general election.
1987 - Noor Hassanali
becomes president.
1990 - More than 100
Islamist radicals blow up the
police headquarters, seize the
parliament building in Port of
Spain and hold Robinson and
other government officials
hostage for five days in an
abortive coup attempt. They
are known as the Jumaat al
Muslimeen and described as
Muslim extremists. After a
long standoff with the police
and military, the Jamaat al
Muslimeen leader, Yasin Abu
Bakr and his followers surren-
dered to Trinidadian authorities.
1991 –Patrick Manning is
elected Prime Minister and
Basdeo Panday continues to
lead the opposition.
1994--Trinidad and Tobago
Television Company merged
with the state-owned radio
company, National Broadcasting
Service. The new entity
was called the International
Communications Network.
-- Basdeo Panday is elected
prime minister. He is the first
prime minister of Indo-Trinidadian
descent.
1998—Wendy Fitzwilliams
wins Miss Universe. This title
is the second for T&T.
2002 -- Third general
election in three years ends
months of political deadlock.
Prime Minister Patrick Manning’s
ruling People’s National
Movement declares victory.
2003 --President Maxwell
Richards is sworn in after
being elected by MPs in February.
State-owned sugar
company Caroni shuts down
with the loss of more than
8,000 jobs.
2005 -- Regional leaders
gather to inaugurate the
Trinidad-based Caribbean
Court of Justice, a final court
of appeal intended to replace
Britain’s Privy Council. The
court hears its first case later
that November. At least 10,000
people take part in a protest
- named the Death March -
against an escalating rate of
violent crimes.
2006 – Soca Warriors,
Trinidad & Tobago’s football
team qualifies for the FIFA
World Cup in Germany. The
soccer team maintains the
record of being the smallest
nation --both in size and
population -- to qualify for a
World Cup competition.
2009 – President Barrack
Obama visits T&T for Summit
of the Americas talks.
2010 –Kamla Persad-Bissesar
sworn in as the country’s
first female Prime Minister.
Air Jamaica operates under
the banner of Caribbean Airlines,
T&T’s national airlines.
2011 – Limited state of
emergency is declared by
President George Maxwell
Richards.
2012 – Keshorn Wolcott
strikes gold at London Olympics
winning the javelin. The
nation tallies another three
bronze medals during the
30th Olympiad.
Page 53 • Caribbean Life • Brooklyn/Staten Island • Aug. 31–Sept. 6, 2012