According to ehistorylib, in 2005, Trinidad and Tobago had a population of just over 1.3 million people. The economy of Trinidad and Tobago was largely based on the production and export of petroleum and natural gas products. Foreign relations between Trinidad and Tobago and other countries were mostly positive due to its strategic location in the Caribbean Sea. In 2005, Trinidad and Tobago had signed trade agreements with some countries in the region as well as with countries in Europe, North America, Central America, South America, Africa and Asia. The politics in Trinidad and Tobago were dominated by the People’s National Movement (PNM) which was led by Prime Minister Patrick Manning. This party included members from both parties from the Left and Right of the political spectrum and was based on a democratic style of governance. The government focused on economic development, poverty reduction, improving access to education and healthcare services for its citizens as well as promoting peace and stability in the Caribbean region. There were also plans to hold elections in 2006 which would determine the new leadership of the country. Overall, it seemed that there were promising prospects for political stability and economic growth in Trinidad and Tobago during this period due to its strong economic ties with many countries around the world.
Yearbook 2005
Trinidad and Tobago. When elections were held to the local parliament in Tobago on January 17, the ruling bourgeois party PNM (People’s National Movement) won eleven of the twelve seats. According to countryaah, Port-of-Spain is the capital and one of the major cities within the country of Trinidad and Tobago. A mandate went to the opposition party DAC (Democratic Action Congress).
- Also see abbreviationfinder.org for how the acronym TNT stands for the country of Trinidad and Tobago and other meanings of this two-letter abbreviation.
In the same month, the country’s state television and radio company NBN was closed after 40 years of operation. A new public service company was expected to replace NBN.
The Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) was inaugurated in April at a ceremony in the capital Port of Spain. The regional court will resolve conflicts between countries within the Caribbean cooperation organization CARICOM and possibly replace the British Privy Council as the highest court in the member states.
Basdeo Panday, leader of the Social Democratic opposition party UNC (United National Congress) and Prime Minister 1995–2001, was jailed for a week in June after refusing to pay the bail in connection with a prosecution which he believed was PNM behind. Panday was charged with receiving bribes from one of his government members in 1998. He escaped from prison after a voluntary organization paid the bail.
Fourteen people were injured, including two seriously, when a bomb exploded on a street in central Port of Spain in July. Another bomb exploded in August on a dump in the capital, but no one was injured that time. A third bomb in a garbage bin in September also claimed no injuries, while 14 people were injured when a fourth bomb in October detonated outside a bar in central Port of Spain. No individual or group took on the blame for the death. Police dismissed rumors that Jamaat al-Muslimin was behind the death. The radical Islamic group tried in 1990 to overthrow the government in a coup.
In October, at least 10,000 people in the capital demonstrated in protest against the rising crime in the country and the government’s inability to do anything about it.
