Попытка государственного переворота в Тринидаде и Тобаго (1990)

1990 failed attempt by Islamist militants to overthrow the government of Trinidad and Tobago

The Jamaat al Muslimeen coup d'état attempt was an attempt to overthrow the government of Trinidad and Tobago, instigated on Friday, 27 July 1990. Over the course of six days, Jamaat al Muslimeen, a radical extremist Islamist group, held hostages (including Prime Minister A. N. R. Robinson and other government officials) at the Red House and at the headquarters of the state owned national television broadcaster, Trinidad and Tobago Television (TTT). On 1 August, the insurgents surrendered. They were charged with treason, but were ordered released by the Court of Appeal. Twenty four people were killed and many more were injured in the coup.

The Jamaat al Muslimeen was founded in 1982 by Yasin Abu Bakr, a former policeman and convert to Islam, and established a compound at No. 1 Mucurapo Road in Port of Spain, on land owned by the Port of Spain City Corporation. In 1969, the property was granted to the Islamic Missionaries Guild (IMG) by the government of Trinidad and Tobago, but the transfer had never completed because the land belonged to the city, not the central government. In 1984 a court ordered the Muslimeen to vacate the property and demolish the buildings they had constructed without planning permission, including an incomplete mosque. Abu Bakr refused to comply and served a 21 day jail sentence for contempt of court in 1985.

In the mid 1980s the Muslimeen launched a vigilante campaign against the illegal drug trade. Muslimeen members drove drug dealers out of "drug blocks" and seized cocaine, marijuana and weapons. They organised their members into a paramilitary force and used their reputation to recruit more members, especially among the disaffected Afro Trinidadian youth of Port of Spain.

After winning the general elections in December 1986, the National Alliance for Reconstruction (NAR) government implemented policies to deal with an economic decline triggered by a combination of declining petroleum production and falling oil prices. The NAR government implemented a programme of spending cuts, tax increases and devalued the Trinidad and Tobago dollar in an attempt to reverse the country's economic decline. Cost of living adjustments (COLA) to public servants were suspended in 1987 and their salaries were cut by 10% in 1990. A value added tax (VAT) was also introduced in the 1990 budget. Dissent within the ruling party led to a split within the NAR government. Four former members of the United Labour Front who were expelled from Cabinet formed the Caucus for Love, Unity and Brotherhood (CLUB 88) in March 1988, and went on to form a new party, the United National Congress, on 16 March 1988. The government's Social Welfare Department and the public hospitals lacked the resources to handle the increase in demands for their services. The Muslimeen stepped in, offering food, eyeglass frames, and organising medical and dental appointments. For the unemployed and homeless, especially young men, they provided structure and belonging. In 1988, police raided the Jamaat al Muslimeen commune, seizing weapons and ammunition and arresting 34 members. The members were charged with larceny, robbery, illegal possession of weapons, rape and murder. This event led members of Jamaat al Muslimeen to believe that the government was being oppressive and had illegally occupied their land. Before the coup d'état attempt, Abu Bakr was arrested several times on charges of contempt of court and illegal demonstrations. According to a 2014 interview by former minister of communications Gerald Hadeed, two days before the coup attempt, Prime Minister Robinson was warned that there might be an attempt to overthrow his government on that day and he was asked to have the scheduled sitting postponed. Robinson declined, however, claiming that he had taken an oath of office and he would not deviate from it in front of a potential threat.

On Friday 27 July 1990 the Jamaat al Muslimeen attempted to stage a coup d'état against the government of Trinidad and Tobago. Their first act was the bombing of the Police Headquarters at around 5:50pm which by nightfall was completely gutted by fire. Almost simultaneously, forty two insurgents led by Bilaal Abdullah stormed the Red House, the seat of Parliament, and took Robinson and most of his cabinet hostage, while seventy two of their accomplices led by Yasin Abu Bakr attacked the offices of Trinidad and Tobago Television (TTT), the only television station in the country at that time. The National Broadcasting Service (NBS Radio 610AM) and the Trinidad Broadcasting Company Radio Trinidad 730AM, the only two radio stations in the country were also attacked. At 6.20 pm, Yasin Abu Bakr first appeared on television and announced that the government had been overthrown and that he was negotiating with the army. He called for calm and said that there should be no looting. Prime Minister Robinson was beaten, degraded and shot in the lower right leg when he tried to order the army to attack the militants. The army and the police responded by sealing off the area around the Red House. Widespread looting and arson took place in Port of Spain and other parts of the East–West Corridor, but the remainder of the country was calm. American Airlines and British Airways cancelled all flights to the capital city.

The Jamaat al Muslimeen members who surrendered were tried for treason, but the Court of Appeal upheld the amnesty offered to secure their surrender, and they were released. The Judicial Committee of the Privy Council later invalidated the amnesty, but they were not re arrested. About 24 people died during the coup attempt, with millions of Trinidad and Tobago dollars in property losses. Among the dead was the Member of Parliament for Diego Martin Central, Leo Des Vignes. Many people saw the coup attempt as the end of the power of the National Alliance for Reconstruction government. In late July or early August 2010, the court ruled that many properties owned by the Jamaat would be sold to make up for the cost of the destruction of buildings in the coup attempt. A Commission of Enquiry was appointed to enquire into the events surrounding the attempted coup was formally launched in 2010. On 13 March 2014, the final report was presented to President Anthony Carmona. The Enquiry found that the proximate cause of the attempted coup was the inadequate communication by Special Branch of the Police Service to inform national security with two years of intelligence that an insurrection by the Jamaat against the Republic was likely. Those within national security who did receive the intelligence either underestimated or discounted the threat which prevented counter measures. The Enquiry also noted that losses due to arson and looting during the coup was estimated to be TTD $450,000,000.00.