PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad, Jul 29 2015 – The Jamaat Al Muslimeen group Wednesday denied reports that it was planning an armed attack on the private residence of Prime Minister Kamla Persad Bissesar and urged the police “to take every precaution to avoid discrimination against Muslims”.
The group, led by Yasin Abu Bakr, who staged an unsuccessful coup here on July 27, 1990, was reacting to a” leaked confident memo” alleged to have originated from the Office of the Head of the Special Branch of the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service.
National Security Minister Carl Alfonso and the police hierarchy have questioned the authenticity of the document which alleges that members of the Muslim group were “planning activities inimical to the state’.
“Reportedly they are planning to target the Prime Minister’s private residence….Moreover, they are also planning a series of coordinated attack and will attempt to free the 11 persons charged with the murder of Senior Counsel Dana Seetahal and those charged in the Vindra Naipaul-Coleman case”.
The 11 men appeared in court earlier this week and their case has been adjourned to August 24.
The document also alleges that the Muslimeen group had been moving arms and ammunition to San Fernando, south of here and were also planning to target certain police stations and that “these activities are likely to commence immediately”.
But in its statement, the Jamaat Al Mulsimeen group said that “it had unconfirmed indications” that the document did not come from the police and was asking the authorities to “clarify its authenticity”.
“We also urge the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service to act within the constraints of the law and to take every precaution to avoid discrimination against Muslims.
“There is no threat to the population of Trinidad and Tobago from the Jamaat Al Muslimeen. Our issues are being dealt with legally. There appears to be persons spreading rumours with a view to causing mischief to destabilise our country. As a people we need to stand united and support each other” said the statement signed by Bakr.
