People no longer bother to put on masks before they shoot you in broad daylight because they feel no one is going to testify against them, says former Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) and T&T's former chief justice Michael de la Bastide. De la Bastide made the observation while giving evidence at the 13th session of the Commission of Enquiry into the 1990 attempted coup at the CCJ in Port-of-Spain yesterday.
He was asked by commissioner Dr Eastlyn McKenzie if he felt granting the Muslimeen insurrectionists a pardon contributed to the escalation of crime in T&T. Giving his own view as a citizen, De la Bastide said he believed the amnesty given to the rebels had an effect on the frequency with which people who commit crime escape punishment through conviction and detention.
The optimism of people who shoot you without a mask is, therefore, justified, he told the commission. His point was reinforced by commission chairman, Sir David Simmons, who recalled the evidence given by former magistrate George Hislop at an earlier session.
Noting the matter raised by De la Bastide might be appropriate for further study by criminologists, Simmons said it was noted in Hislop's evidence that after the Muslimeen were released, remanded prisoners went to the Port-of-Spain Magistrates Court with a completely different attitude.
They came with a swagger, insisting about their rights and generally behaving in an aggressive manner, Simmons said, recalling Hislop's statement. Former National for Alliance for Reconstruction MPs, Gloria Henry, and Emmanuel Hosein, also spoke about an attitude that manifested itself in a certain element of society after the court's decision to free the Muslimeen insurgents, Simmons added.
It was suggested that the fact that the Muslimeen committed such an atrocious act and got away with it scot-free emboldened this segment, he said. However, not prosecuting the Muslimeen might have been less detrimental, De la Bastide also noted. It could have been worse if the Government had to prosecute 114 Muslimeen members, in batches of five, for murder, treason and other offences, he pointed out.
In addition to posing a serious challenge to the judiciary over a long period of time, it could have cost the Government millions of dollars if the Muslimeen had won their matter and the State had to pay them damages, he said. A significant portion of the former CCJ president's evidence centered around his belief that the amnesty granted to the Muslimeen by then acting president, Emmanual Carter, was made under duress and was, therefore, not valid.
De la Bastide told the commission he went to Camp Ogden on the night of July 27, 1990, the day of the uprising after he was called by former education minister, Clive Pantin, for his assistance. "They asked me whether a pardon or amnesty would be invalid given under duress." The ex-CJ said there were no reference books on the matter available and all he had at the time was the Constitution.
He came to the view that duress could invalidate the pardon to be granted, he told the enquiry. According to the Constitution, for the amnesty to be effective, it would have to be given under the advice of Cabinet or a minister operating under the authority of Cabinet, De la Bastide insisted. He said the President had no authority to grant an amnesty.
"In my respectful view, he didn't have the power to grant an amnesty without Cabinet approval." And, although Cabinet ministers were present at Camp Ogden during the ordeal, it did not appear that the issue of Cabinet advice was present in their minds at the time, he said. For Carter, the issue should have been a moral one; whether to sign the document or not, he said.
He said he read a copy of the "proposed amnesty" and made an insertion stating it was granted for the purpose of avoiding physical injury to the politicians and others held hostage in the Red House by the Muslimeen. "The purpose (of the insertion) was to emphasise it was given under duress to save people's lives," De la Bastide said.
He said he wondered whether it would get past the Muslimeen if they realised it was being crafted in a particular way. In July 1992, two years after their incarceration, Justice Clebert Brooks ordered the release of the 114 Muslimeen members who were awaiting trial for treason, murder and other offences. Brooks said the amnesty granted to the Muslimeen members by Carter on July 28, 1990, was valid.