1990 - The Foreword by Arthur NR Robinson
09/07/10 19:42 Filed in: Excerpt
The Foreword
to 1990-The personal account of a journalist under
siege by Arthur NR Robinson.
Foreword
This
amazing story is of a personal experience,
including a miraculous escape from death, of
one of our leading journalists during the
attempted overthrow of the Government of
Trinidad and Tobago by a group of fanatical
Muslim extremists, just before Saddam Hussein
invaded the Middle East country of Kuwait, in
some ways foreshadowing the terrorist threat
that has subsequently gripped most of the
Western world.
This group of terrorists, including about 114 relatively misguided young men under the leadership of a former Police Constable trained and armed in Libya, burst unto a sitting house of Parliament at about 6.00pm on the evening of July 27th, seized, beat and handcuffed the Prime Minister and other members of Parliament holding them hostage for six days, from July 27th to August 1st.1990, when the hostages were eventually freed following an amnesty agreement made between the rest of government and the terrorists.
Dennis McComie, the author, was ‘holed-up’ in the National Broadcasting service building (Radio 610AMm and 100FM). The author of this extraordinary documentary had a ringside view from beginning to end of this dangerous situation that threatened the democracy and even the recently acquired independence of this small, twin island, Southern Caribbean state, a few miles from Venezuela and Latin America.
This book is a most important and readable account of the agonizing experience of the journalist and the people of Trinidad and Tobago during that period of six days when most of the government was held hostage in the Parliament, which was generally under gunfire, both by terrorists outside and members of the army and police hastily summoned to the scene.
The book tells of McComie's hair-raising account from the broadcasting centre, master control, past staff frozen with fright and into the streets where brazen terrorists roamed up and down while fire consumed the ancient Police headquarters and other buildings in the capital city of Port of Spain.
It was his voice from the radio station that enabled the terrorized population to know that the attempted overthrow of the Government had not succeeded and that Abu Bakr and his group had been frustrated.
McComie tells how the rampant terrorists sought and failed at attempts to receive support from the population of the city, how an amnesty agreement was eventually entered into after negotiations by members of the government with the terrorists, how the terrorists were rounded up by the army and transported to Teteron barracks where they were held and eventually charged with treason, murder, and other crimes from which amazingly they were eventually freed by the Privy Council, Trinidad and Tobago's final Court of Appeal.
This is the most detailed account that has so far appeared of the events of 1990, which constitute the most memorable in the history of Trinidad and Tobago. Efforts to have a Commission of Inquiry established, having been refused by succeeding governments until this day, leave the story of 1990 and the bold attempt to overthrow the democratically elected government by force of arms incompletely told and documented.
McComie's book, though not filling this gap, is nonetheless a remarkable record of events as witnessed first hand by a distinguished journalist and is one of the most important records of this history of our country.
It is a most interesting and fascinating record of a criminal act in the history of Trinidad and Tobago, foiled by the remarkable heroism of a few whose contribution to nation building and nation saving has never been acknowledged.
Arthur N. R. Robinson, OCC, SC Hon. DCL, Hon. Fellow of St. John's College, Oxford.
This group of terrorists, including about 114 relatively misguided young men under the leadership of a former Police Constable trained and armed in Libya, burst unto a sitting house of Parliament at about 6.00pm on the evening of July 27th, seized, beat and handcuffed the Prime Minister and other members of Parliament holding them hostage for six days, from July 27th to August 1st.1990, when the hostages were eventually freed following an amnesty agreement made between the rest of government and the terrorists.
Dennis McComie, the author, was ‘holed-up’ in the National Broadcasting service building (Radio 610AMm and 100FM). The author of this extraordinary documentary had a ringside view from beginning to end of this dangerous situation that threatened the democracy and even the recently acquired independence of this small, twin island, Southern Caribbean state, a few miles from Venezuela and Latin America.
This book is a most important and readable account of the agonizing experience of the journalist and the people of Trinidad and Tobago during that period of six days when most of the government was held hostage in the Parliament, which was generally under gunfire, both by terrorists outside and members of the army and police hastily summoned to the scene.
The book tells of McComie's hair-raising account from the broadcasting centre, master control, past staff frozen with fright and into the streets where brazen terrorists roamed up and down while fire consumed the ancient Police headquarters and other buildings in the capital city of Port of Spain.
It was his voice from the radio station that enabled the terrorized population to know that the attempted overthrow of the Government had not succeeded and that Abu Bakr and his group had been frustrated.
McComie tells how the rampant terrorists sought and failed at attempts to receive support from the population of the city, how an amnesty agreement was eventually entered into after negotiations by members of the government with the terrorists, how the terrorists were rounded up by the army and transported to Teteron barracks where they were held and eventually charged with treason, murder, and other crimes from which amazingly they were eventually freed by the Privy Council, Trinidad and Tobago's final Court of Appeal.
This is the most detailed account that has so far appeared of the events of 1990, which constitute the most memorable in the history of Trinidad and Tobago. Efforts to have a Commission of Inquiry established, having been refused by succeeding governments until this day, leave the story of 1990 and the bold attempt to overthrow the democratically elected government by force of arms incompletely told and documented.
McComie's book, though not filling this gap, is nonetheless a remarkable record of events as witnessed first hand by a distinguished journalist and is one of the most important records of this history of our country.
It is a most interesting and fascinating record of a criminal act in the history of Trinidad and Tobago, foiled by the remarkable heroism of a few whose contribution to nation building and nation saving has never been acknowledged.
Arthur N. R. Robinson, OCC, SC Hon. DCL, Hon. Fellow of St. John's College, Oxford.