TT: Businesses still suffer 14 years after the coup

Fourteen years after the attempted coup, President of the Downtown Owners and Merchants Association (DOMA), Gregory Aboud, has said businesses in Port of Spain never got the type of relief they wanted.

Aboud also believes that since the 1990 coup attempt, too much economic activity has been centred outside of this country's capital, depriving Port of Spain of investment.

He's also calling for the establishment of a memorial for all those who lost their lives.

Today marks 14 years since the Jamaat-al-Muslimeen, led by Yasin Abu Bakr, tried to violently overthrow the government. About thirty people died and businesses were looted and burned in the capital city.

Today, the National Alliance for Reconstruction, the party in power then, will hold a wreath laying ceremony at the Memorial Shrine, Red House, Port of Spain at 4.30 p.m.

Aboud told TV6 News that he was disappointed that the city is still not the flurry of activity expected after the rebuilding process, adding that there were still too many unresolved problems. He wants projects like MovieTowne established within the city because too much money has been spent on construction outside of Port of Spain.

"On reflection, as a country we weren't vigilant and we were too ill-prepared for the attack by the Jamaat-al-Muslimeen," he said. Aboud also said that more value must be placed on the lives lost during the coup.