On the Anniversary of the attempted coup, July 27th 1990

'We the people of Trinidad & Tobago now await with eager Patriotism the soon to be convened, much requested and continuously denied Commission of Enquiry into the events of July 1990, what actually occurred, who were involved and why.
We will never have closure on this issue until some searching questions are asked and answered; until all the players, both frontline and those behind the scenes are unmasked, charged for their crimes, tried by jury and punished to the fullest extent of the Law.
This long overdue Enquiry is High service in defense of our Democracy and, for reasons known only to the last two Prime Ministers twenty years too late.
It is a tragedy that evil had been allowed to prosper this long, and an insult to the dignity of every Trinidadian that no one has as yet paid for this assault on our Democracy'.
Though the wheels of Justice have been made to turn slowly, to the decent and the upright in society we say better late than never.

On July 27th we again face the anniversary of the repulsive assault on our nation’s democracy by Lennox Philip aka Yasin Abu Bakr twenty years ago.
We should pause and reflect on the families of those who died in the tragic events of that week, and commiserate with them in their grief for their loss.
In memory of their sacrifice, we as a people should not rest until the perpetrators and their benefactors are unmasked and brought to justice.

Under the pretense and guise of an 'Islamic' fight, and in an insult and as an embarrassment to decent, law abiding Muslims everywhere, on Friday July 27th 1990, Bakr and his murderous band of thugs, dressed in Muslim attire, stormed the Seat of Parliament and the property of the Trinidad & Tobago Television and held Members of Parliament, members of the media and members of staff hostage in an attempt to overthrow the democratically elected Government of then Prime Minister ANR Robinson and the National Alliance for Reconstruction.
After a five day stand off with the Police Service and the combined Defense Forces of Trinidad & Tobago, Bakr and his gang were forced to surrender to the might of the state.
Many people died during the hostage crisis, and much of the capital City of Port of Spain was damaged by looting that followed the televised announcement, and from set fires that raged out of control for days.

As disgusting as that memory is, we also continue to face the incomprehensible position of our country’s last Prime Minister in his unbelievable stance on the national call for an enquiry into the events that led up to that fateful week in our history while he was in Office.
To say that an enquiry is important to the development of this nation is to understate it, and civil society demands that we unmask those behind the scenes and other accomplices who must be brought to justice.
Mr. Bakr is a criminal and a traitor and needs to pay for his crimes against the people of this country. There is no statute of limitations on treason and murder, and someone needs to hang from the neck until dead for that brutal attack on our sovereignty; anything less would be a slap in the face where crime and the punishment of crime is concerned. You simply cannot have a double standard when innocent lives are lost, and Mr. Manning’s astonishing ramblings on the subject will not put the issue to rest.
To this writer, his (Manning's) posture on the issue begs a lot of questions, not the least among them being what he knew and when; and why is he so hesitant to allow justice to be seen to be done by bringing the entire cast of characters to justice.

The fact that Bakr and his accomplices were able to escape the noose after committing treason, murder and violent crimes against the people and State of Trinidad & Tobago contributed in no small way to the rise in the incidents of violent crime, and the statistics pre and post 1990 bear this out.
Now, the Honorable Winston Dookeran has promised time and again that, were he to be elected to Office, there would be a Commission of Enquiry into the events of July 1990. Mr. Dookeran is now in Government as part of a Coalition, and that Government, like every Government since 1990 has an obligation to facilitate a clearing of the air on this matter.

Were it not for the men of our armed forces we may have lived a different history these last twenty years, and both Colonel Joe Theodore and Brigadier Ralph Brown are overdue the respect and accolades deserved by men who rescued the nation from these murderous thugs.

Regardless of anyone's grouse with a Government, killing innocent people IS NOT a way to solve it.
Terrorizing a nation IS NOT a means to an end.

Lennox Phillip aka Abu Bakr should have been hung for treason and murder.

In my view it's not too late to get that right.
I have absolute faith in the leadership and men and women of our armed forces and I am fully confident that any foolishness of any kind will not be tolerated this time around.


The members of the Jamaat were lucky that Colonel Theodore showed the restraint he did dealing with that megalomaniac ass, because he would have done the country and every other decent law abiding Muslim a favor if he had put a bullet in his head.

The enquiry should also pave the way for the naming and the honoring of all the national heroes including the hostages of that dark page in our history.

That said...

I would like to publicly acknowledge and applaud Prime Minister Kamla Persad Bissesar and her Attorney General Mr. Anand Ramlogan for their decision to convene an enquiry into the events that led up to and including the week of July 27th 1990. You are doing the country and its people a great service, and I implore you to not flinch in the face of threats or lobbying due to cost or the silly argument that too much time has passed.
We stand with you as one people and would willingly take up arms side by side with the men and women of our armed forces in defense of our country should the worst occur and the need arise.
Let all potential terrorists and those who would attempt to violate our national sovereignty be very aware that you command an army 1.3 million strong.
The overwhelming truth of the matter is the nation needs this understanding as to what really motivated this assault on our democracy, our people and our country, and is vital information for getting this nation back on the path of decency, where respect and the rule of law can once more be obtained.