Yasin Abu Bakr, leader of the Jamaat al Muslimeen, yesterday warned young men, calling themselves “Muslims” who are engaged in the current Rasta City vs Muslim gang war that they will get no protection from the Jamaat.
Abu Bakr, who spoke to a modest crowd of mostly Muslims, from the bandstand at Woodford Square, Port-of-Spain gave the warning during a press conference to reveal details about the 1990 attempted coup which was carried out by him and 113 followers.
“There are many young people who have pronounced themselves as Muslims, they do not belong to Jamaat.
“They do the same thing that Rasta City do, they sell drugs, they go to the ‘No Draws’ party, they go on the same boat ride, they do the very same thing and they say they are Muslims to get the cover of Jamaat al Muslimeen but today I say it publicly, they do not belong to Jamaat and have no protection whatsoever from the Jamaat,” Bakr said.
“Therefore I warn you, you have no protection of us but I also warn you Rasta City, be careful how you tread, you are foolish people, you shoot at the police, you think you can shoot at the police, you stupid young man?”
Bakr, who said he was trained as a marksman warned gang members that the police, unlike them, were trained to use a weapon.
“You just get a gun and raise it and shoot in the air. I was a marksman, I know how to shoot and I know they cannot shoot. When a marksman shoot somebody they use one bullet, these young stupid men, they put one and 15 bullets in a man, and a bullet is $25 and they buy no books for their children.”
In the same breath, he warned police officers to be cautious when taking the lives of young men in this country.
“Everytime you go to the mortuary you see all these African faces. Something is fundamentally wrong in society. Someone has created a myth about the war between Rasta City and Muslim to hide the genocide taking place in the country where young men are being killed.
Surrounded by his bodyguards, Bakr repeatedly his story about the events which sparked the attempted coup, starting with the murder of a female police officer and the harassment of the Jamaat members.
However, he deviated to speak of racism, Commissioner of Police Stephen Williams’ acting position and ongoing crime in the nation.