Wreath Laying Ceremony - Solemn Remembrance of July 27, 1990

Solemn Remembrance - July 27th, 1990
On Friday July 27th, 1990 at 6:05 p.m., armed gunmen stormed the Parliament Chamber where the House of Representatives was in session. Then Prime Minister ANR Robinson, eight of his Cabinet Ministers, six other Members of Parliament, staff of the Parliament and persons sitting in the public and media galleries were taken hostage. Mr. Robinson was shot as well as MP for Diego Martin Central Leo Des Vignes, who eventually died at hospital. Parliament staff and other persons were released on the same day, but Mr. Robinson and other MPs were held until August 1st.
The Muslimeen also stormed television station TTT and Radio Trinidad and took members of staff hostage. Those persons were only released or escaped after the Muslimeen signed an amnesty with the government.
Eight people died as a direct result of the attack on the Red House:
1. Leo Des Vignes, Member of Parliament for Diego Martin Central
2. Roger George - Assistant Superintendent of Police;
3. Lorraine Caballero - Clerical Officer;
4. Malcolm Basanta - Estate Policeman;
5. Mervyn Teague - Government Broadcasting Unit employee;
6. Arthur Guiseppi - Ex-policeman;
7. George Francis - Chauffeur; and
8. Solomon McLeod - Police Headquarters Sentry
Many more persons were injured. The Red House suffered gravely during the invasion since the building was shot at and even shelled. In the aftermath, bullet holes were visible on walls, doors, windows and the ceiling of the Chamber and there was a gaping hole at the southern end of the building on the ground floor.
As a temporary measure, two sittings of the House and Senate were held at the Auditorium of the Central Bank. But with the opening of the Fifth Session of the Third Parliament on November 5th, 1990, sittings were once again held in the Red House, not at its customary place, but at the southern Chamber. It was not until July 26th, 1991, that the traditional Chamber was restored to its original status, and Parliament reconvened in that Chamber with a rededication and memorial service.
An Eternal Flame, symbolising "the need to be ever-vigilant in the protection of our democracy" was also lit outside. It originally stood atop the marble cenotaph on the eastern lawn and is inscribed with the Oath of Allegiance of Members of Parliament, the National Anthem, the Affirmation of the People and a commemorative plaque bearing the names of all those killed in and around the Red House during the attempted coup. The Eternal Flame and marble cenotaph have now been permanently erected along the pedestrianised Knox Street.
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