There was a small turnout by members of the public to view casket with the body of T&T’s third President and Prime Minister at the lobby of the Parliament at the Waterfront Complex, Wrightson Road, Port-of-Spain, yesterday. Today is the last day for the body of Arthur NR Robinson to lie in state in a casket draped in the national flag. Robinson, 87, died on April 9 after kidney failure. His body will be taken to the National Academy for the Performing Arts, Port-of-Spain, tomorrow morning for the first of two state funerals.
Members of the public, who were allowed to view the casket after 11 am, said they were disappointed that they could not see the body. Some questioned why they were encouraged to see a closed casket and not his body but despite their concern, many expressed love for Robinson. There was never a line of more than six people at any given time waiting to view the casket. President Anthony Carmona was the first, arriving at 8 am, when viewing started.
More than two hours later Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar was greeted by her Cabinet ministers on the steps of the building. Afterwards she chaired this week’s Cabinet meeting at the Parliament. The meeting was held yesterday because of tomorrow’s state funeral for Robinson. Others who visited yesterday morning included Leader of the Opposition Dr Keith Rowley, Opposition Senator Faris Al-Rawi, Opposition MPs Alicia Hospedales and Fitzgerald Jeffrey and Justice Malcolm Holdip.
Shortly before 11 am Robinson’s son, David, his daughter, Ann Margaret, and his granddaughter, Anushka, were accompanied by Senate President Timothy Hamel-Smith and Speaker Wade Mark to view the body. Robinson’s former international relations adviser Debra Coryat and his nephew, Ellis, from Tobago, also attended, as did pupils of Nelson Street Boys’ RC School. There was a heavy presence of members of the Defence Force and police officers to maintain order.
In a brief interview with reporters, Al-Rawi said T&T was “darker” because of Robinson’s passing and said people should reflect on Robinson’s contribution to the nation over the past decades. “It is very much a celebration as it is a mourning of the passing of a great soldier, a great man and a great leader,” he added. Earlier, Robinson’s body was conveyed to the Parliament in a slow march, resting on a gun carriage, from Clark and Battoo Funeral Home, Tragarete Road, Port-of-Spain.
Robinson will be buried in Tobago on Saturday after a second state funeral at Dwight Yorke Stadium, Bacolet.