Enquiry into coup attempt necessary

Perhaps these responses could be excused by an insufficient grasp of the import in the early stages. But, even after the coup was put down and the 114 Jamaat members arrested, it became clear that not everybody had the same idea of right and wrong. The coup attempt was not a debatable sort of issue — armed men had attempted to overthrow a duly elected government which had not itself committed any human rights offences against citizens. This had to be wrong to anyone who believed in democracy and the rule of law. But, after the insurgents were freed on a technicality, it became clear that such persons were not so thick either in the corridors of power or in the grassroots.

The first signals were seen when Jamaat leader Abu Bakr would appear at certain ethnically oriented functions and receive applause from a significant section of the kente-clothed audience. But the clearest sign that something was rotten in the state of Trinidad and Tobago came in 1995, when newly installed Prime Minister Basdeo Panday received Abu Bakr and his lieutenants in his office. When taken to task for this, Mr Panday offered the completely ludicrous excuse that, as Prime Minister, he had to meet with everyone. It transpired later that the UNC leadership had accepted Bakr’s offer to campaign for them in the 1991 general election.

But by 2001, Bakr and the UNC had apparently fallen out, and Patrick Manning was not averse to having the Jamaat leader on his side, saying that in an election he would accept votes from anyone. In 2002, Mr Manning announced that the disputed land at Mucurapo would be given to the Jamaat. The public protested vociferously, showing that right thinking had gained some ground. But public sentiment has never fazed Mr Manning, and it seemed that it was really the hard line taken by some Cabinet members which caused the PNM leader to back down. That may have marked the beginning of a split between the PNM and the Jamaat.

In the meantime, though, the Jamaat membership had established itself firmly in the URP and also took control of the now-infamous Valencia quarry. They also infiltrated the business community, since several business persons took the ill-advised decision to hire them as debt collectors — a strategy which many of them later came to regret.

Now, in 2005, it seems that public opinion is firmly against the Jamaat. The PNM and UNC have agreed that the anniversary must be marked, and there are calls for a commission of inquiry. At the same time, our politicians clearly have not fully absorbed the lessons of 1990. This is shown by Mr Manning dismissing the Frederick Street bomb as "not the first incident of its kind", as though an explosive device sufficiently powerful to rip apart a metal dustbin is the same as a pitch-oil bottle with a lighted rag. It is shown by Mr Panday’s attempt to get political mileage out of an incident which should have been condemned outright.

Yet the groundswell is there. Whether it will peter out or grow to a mighty wave remains to be seen. But an official enquiry into the events of 15 years ago is surely necessary if our society is to deal with the still-unacknowledged trauma of the 1990 coup attempt.