National Security Minister Gary Griffith said T&T did not provide any information that led to Jamaat-al-Muslimeen leader Yasin Abu Bakr being detained and denied entry to Jamaica on Wednesday. He was speaking at yesterday’s post-Cabinet news conference at the Office of the Prime Minister, St Clair. He said the first time he heard about the matter was when T&T’s High Commissioner in Kingston Dr Iva Gloudon contacted him.
He noted the decision by the Jamaican authorities should be respected and not questioned. He said if Jamaica felt anyone was a security threat to the country it could rightly deny entry. He said Abu Bakr’s detention was not any act of retaliation by Jamaica against similar action taken recently by T&T against 13 Jamaican nationals who attempted to enter T&T but were deported. Griffith said the T&T Government was moving to address the high incidence of illegal immigrants in the country.
Bakr returned home shortly after 6 am yesterday on a private flight. He was detained in Kingston shortly after he arrived on Wednesday afternoon to attend Sunday’s Million Man March at the National Arena, being hosted by Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan. The authorities in Jamaica said Abu Bakr, who led an unsuccessful attempt to overthrow the T&T Government in July 1990, was a security threat. And in a statement issued by the Muslimeen yesterday, Bakr described his arrest and detention as an “abuse” and after an investigation was complete “appropriate action will be taken in accordance.” He also wants the T&T authorities to intervene “to clear up this matter.”
Bark's Version of Events
Bakr said he, one of his wives and son boarded a Caribbean Airlines flight from Piarco to Norman Manley Airport, Jamaica, for a six-day visit to his daughter, who is studying medicine at the Mona Campus of the University of the West Indies. The release also said he had been invited to the 19th anniversary of the Million Man March in Kingston.
When they arrived at the Norman Manley International Airport, Jamaican immigration officials denied them entry, saying they were all threats to national security, it added. After deliberations, Bakr’s wife and son were allowed into Jamaica but he was told he would be deported, it stated. “Bakr refused to leave,” said the release, “stating he wanted clear information on how he could be perceived as a threat to Jamaica.” The release said Abu Bakr was in good health and strong spirits.