1990 Coup Commission of Enquiry launched

The Commission of Enquiry into the 1990 Coup in T&T was launched on 07 Sep 2010 with the swearing in of the Commissioners:

• Sir David Simmons QC - Chairman
• Sir Richard Lionel Cheltenham QC
• Dr Haffizool Ali-Mohammed
• Dr Eastlyn McKenzie
• Diana Mahabir-Wyatt

The commission's secretary is Laraine Lutchmedial SC, and Dana Seetahal SC and attorney Darrell Allahar are the counsels to the commission.

Preliminary reports stated that the CoE's terms of reference include:

• the causes, nature, extent and impact of the attempted coup;
• the underlying purpose and extent of and the intention behind the plot;
• any criminal acts and omissions, including looting which were committed and the motives and objectives of the perpetrators of such acts and omissions;
• the identity of any person or any local, regional, or international authority, institution, organisation or entity who incited, masterminded, planned, directed, conspired towards, consented to, connived at, acquiesced in, participated in, aided or abetted the carrying out of, had prior knowledge of, or was implicated or otherwise involved in criminal acts or omissions, including looting, which were committed in connection with the attempted coup and the extent to which they had prior knowledge of, or was implicated or otherwise involved in, any such acts or omissions;
• the national security deficiencies and breaches of law that facilitated the attempted coup and the extent to which it was possible to prevent the occurrence of the attempted coup;
• the response and performance of the Government, the Defence Force, the Protective Services and other essential services, the Foreign Service and the media during and after the attempted coup;
• all matters pertaining to the negotiation, preparation, execution and effect of the amnesty and the negotiation of the terms of surrender;
• and the continuing propensities of criminal activity arising from the attempted coup and the correlation, if any, between the attempted coup and the trafficking, supplying and possession of illegal drugs, firearms and ammunition.

Hearings are due to begin on 02 Nov 2010 at the Winsure Building in Port of Spain and arrangements are being made for them to be televised.  We're unsure if the proceedings would be streamed live via the Internet; the last CoE (the Uff CoE into the Construction Sector) was shown live on T&T's Parliament Channel, which doesn't have an Internet interface yet.

Get further details from the dailies (Trinidad Express, Trinidad Guardian, Trinidad Newsday).