Coup victim's daughter: Put 1990 CoE recommendations in place

THE daughter of slain Parliamentary clerk Lorraine Caballero on the 34th anniversary of the 1990 coup attempt pleaded with the government to implement the recommendations of the commission of enquiry (CoE) that took place in 2013.

The CoE report was laid in Parliament by then-prime minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar on March 14, 2014.

Afeisha Caballero, and her two sons, were among members of the public, politicians and survivors who visited the memorial built outside the Red House in remembrance of the victims of the attempted coup d'etat.

Also present were, former hostage Wendell Eversley who made his annual walk from the Arima Dial to the Eternal Flame at the Red House, National Transformation Alliance leader Gary Griffith and political leader of HOPE Timothy Hamel-Smith, Louis Lee Sing, deputy political leader of HOPE and Kirt Sinnette, interim political leader of the Congress of the People (COP).

Eversley was dressed in red, white and black and carried a national flag

Afeisha Caballero said, "I was at the CoE almost every day.

"I was present for every hearing and it come like the hearing went through the door."

Eversley also called for the roll out of the recommendations.

He said the insurrection was a period that he could never forget.

"I went through horrors. I was beaten in my head," he said at the cenotaph.

He appealed for a committee to be put in place to have a proper wreath-laying ceremony and a proper recognition for the events of 1990.

Members of the Jamaat al Muslimeen, led by Yasin Abu Bakr, a former police officer, bombed police headquarters, and stormed the Red House and TTT on the evening of July 27, 1990. They held seige for six days until their surrender to the military. None of the insurrectionists were ever prosecuted.

On Thursday, Eversley laid a wreath at the grave site of former president and prime minister Arthur NR Robinson following a walk in Tobago from ANR Robinson International Airport to the the Bacolet Street, Scarborough, cemetery.

Hamel-Smith said in face of rising gun violence it is time for citizens to stand up and unite.

Among the recommendations of the CoE

1. That a small, special unit be created to ferret out and investigate credible information concerning all innocent victims of the attempted coup. The unit should be headed by an attorney-at-law and include investigators. There should be categorisation of the victims; for example, those who died; those who were injured and still suffer the effects thereof; those who were injured but have made a complete recovery; those who received compensation and those who received no compensation.

The government should fix a limit for the amount of compensation for each category of victim after a preliminary report has been submitted to the Cabinet.

2. A special medal to be awarded to people who gave exceptional service or displayed bravery during and immediately after the insurrection but who have not previously been recognised appropriately.

3. That July 27 should be commemorated as a Day of National Significance, not a holiday, but a time for reflection.