‘Million Man March’ observances…Guyanese activist, Trinidadian Muslim leader refused entry to Jamaica

Oct 19, 2014 News

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– intend to take matter to CCJ
Chairman of the Black Consciousness Movement (Guyana), Gerald Perreira, was on Friday last ordered off a flight

in Antigua, on his way to Jamaica, where he had been invited by Minister Louis Farrakhan to participate in the 19th anniversary of the ‘Million Man March’.
Perreira said he was told by authorities in Antigua that he was being removed from the flight because he had been refused permission to land in Jamaica.
Perreira is a part of the regional think tank set up to plan the event in Jamaica which will be broadcast live throughout the Caribbean today. The think tank, which brings together social and political activists throughout the hemisphere, including South and Central America, is charged with formulating solutions to the many problems facing the region.
A few days prior, Imam Abu Bakr from Trinidad and Tobago, who was invited by Minister Farrakhan, was also refused entry into Jamaica. He was detained on arrival at Norman Manley International Airport, along with his wife and son. His wife and son were eventually allowed to enter the country, but Abu Bakr was forcibly returned to Trinidad on a private plane; costing the Jamaican government some US$36,000.
Abu Bakr, leader of Jamaat Al Muslimeen, described the Trinidadian government as the ‘mischief makers’, assuming that they had contacted the Jamaican government and fingered him as some kind of threat, Perreira stated.
However, it was noted that the Jamaican authorities in a statement denied any interference by the Trinidadian government in the decision to refuse entry to Abu Bakr. They stated that the Jamaat al Muslimeen leader was refused permission to enter Jamaica “under the country’s Immigration Restriction Commonwealth Citizens’ Act.” The statement continued that the decision was in the interest of national security given the threat posed to public safety.
The incidents also come at a time when Jamaica called on Trinidad’s National Security Minister, Gary Griffith to “‘refrain from continuing to muddy the integration waters’ as it responded to his statement that the influx of thousands of illegal Jamaicans into Trinidad and Tobago is putting a strain on its resources.”
Only last week the Trinidadian authorities detained a number of Jamaicans. They claimed to have not been given food, made to sleep on the floor, and denied a phone call before being deported, and it was opined that these problems between the territories maybe created the problem for the Jamaat al Muslimeen leader.
However, Perreira believes that Jamaica’s refusal to allow him entry into the country raises new concerns for both men. Perreira said he has no criminal convictions, but has been denied visas for the United States and other western destinations, including Canada and Britain, for some years now, and is not able to transit any of these countries.
In addition, he said his wife and children have also been denied transit visas for the US and have been harassed when they have attempted to transit other ports such as Canada on their way to and from the Caribbean, where they reside.

“I have never been given a reason from these alleged democracies for this denial of my right to travel freely, and can only assume that it is a result of my outspoken criticism of their foreign policies and interference in the domestic affairs of my homeland Guyana, Africa and other parts of the Global South. The US, Britain and Canada are good for moralizing and lecturing us about freedom of speech and the virtues of democracy and when we must hold elections, while only paying lip service to such matters themselves – their hypocrisy is blatant and they are extremely vindictive when it comes to anyone who opposes them on any level.”
Perreira has published extensively on issues affecting Africa and the Caribbean and his recent articles condemning the invasion of Libya and in defence of the late Libyan leader, Muammar Qaddafi, have been widely circulated and translated into numerous languages.
Up until now, Perreira has been able to freely travel in the Caribbean region. Only last month, he said, he joined Minister Farrakhan and others in Barbados for a region-wide meeting. Perreira said he is convinced that the refusal of himself and Abu Bakr to land in Jamaica to join others for the commemoration of the ‘Million Man March’ was ordered by the US State Department, with or without the knowledge of the Prime Minister of Jamaica, Portia Simpson-Miller.
He opined that, ‘this seemingly unwarranted move is about trying to prevent us from coming together and joining with one of today’s greatest Black leaders, the Honourable Minister Louis Farrakhan, to build a strong and united movement across the region against neo-colonialism and for the advancement of our people”.
“One of the themes for the Million Man March event is the urgent need for political self-determination in the region, and how timely, given that two Caricom nationals, free of any criminal convictions, could be refused entry to a Caricom country on the orders of an outside power.”
Perreira and Abu Bakr are “demanding clear information and evidence” on how they could be perceived as posing a threat to the national security of Jamaica. Perreira said such a claim is nonsensical and both he and Abu Bakr, “as Caricom citizens and descendants of captured Africans”, are preparing to take this issue to the Caribbean Court of Justice to assert their right to freedom of movement in Jamaica and throughout the Caribbean.

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