Jamaat al Muslimeen coup attempt
Eternal Flame and 1990 Coup Attempt Memorial, The Red House, Port of Spain, Trinidad & Tobago
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| Date | July 27 – August 1, 1990 |
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| Location | Trinidad and Tobago |
| Participants | Jamaat al Muslimeen; the government of Trinidad and Tobago; Trinidad and Tobago Defence Force |
| Outcome | Government victory, coup suppression. |
The Jamaat al Muslimeen coup 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 Muslim organization, held hostages (including Prime Minister A. N. R. Robinson and other government officials) at the Red House and at the headquarters of Trinidad and Tobago Television. On 1 August, the insurgents surrendered.
In 1988, police raided the commune of Jamaat al Muslimeen, a Muslim organisation led by Yasin Abu Bakr, 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, Abu Bakr was arrested several times on charges of contempt of court and illegal demonstrations.
According to an 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, 114 members of the Jamaat al Muslimeen attempted to stage a coup against the government of Trinidad and Tobago. Forty-two insurgents stormed The Red House, the seat of Parliament, and took Robinson and most of his cabinet hostage, while seventy-two of their accomplices attacked the offices of Trinidad and Tobago Television (TTT), the only television station in the country at that time, and the Trinidad Broadcasting Company, then one of only two radio stations in the country 951 The Best Mix and Radio Trinidad 730 AM. At 6:00 pm, Yasin Abu Bakr 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.
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