The Actions of the State Bureaucracy and Judiciary in the Events Surrounding the 1990 Muslimeen Insurrection.

The 27th of July 1990 was a day full of chaos, confusion and terror for Trinidadians and Tobagonians. This was the day that the Muslimeen insurrection took place. Forty-two armed Muslimeen members stormed into the red house and held everyone in parliament hostage (Deosaran, 1993; Meighoo, 2003). Seventy-two Muslimeen members also stormed into Trinidad and Tobago Television (TTT), Trinidad's only television station at the time. Amongst the members at the television station was the leader of the Muslimeen group Abu Bakr.
The Muslimeen insurrection caused a great deal of property damage, a number of people were injured, the group had illegal possession of firearms, and many more crimes against the group were highlighted. One of the serious crimes was treason again the government of Trinidad and Tobago. The other crimes were not minor, but all things considered, one would expect the Muslimeen members to be in jail up to this day. But it is sad to highlight that the bureaucracy and judicial system of Trinidad and Tobago failed the society, because they were incompetent in addressing the situation in an integral manner. This break down and incompetence of the judiciary and the state bureaucracy has caused the twin islands to be laughed at by international countries and organizations.
The entire Muslimeen issue, though, has been an issue for years. In 1969 and again in 1984 the situation regarding the Mucurapo State lands and the Muslimeen squatting could have been put to an end by the government and the city corporation. The government, however, at certain points in time, disregarded the orders of the court. The judicial system itself was not in cohesion about the issue. This conflict about what to do in the courts and the hesitancy by the government in dealing with the issue promptly, showed a clear breakdown in both the judicial system and the state bureaucracy. The prolonging of the matter and the indecisiveness of the judicial system and the government over a... [continues]

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