That Which Must Not Be Named

According to members of the new political coalition in T&T, Mr Calder Hart is expected to return to the country on Monday 3rd May 2010 to be formally charged with perjury.  The COP's Vernon de Lima is reported to have said:

"We understand that an application will thereafter be made to gag discussion on issues relating to Calder Hart. That means to say that a judge of the High Court will be approached by application that an order be made that nobody in Trinidad and Tobago, including any politician, any newspaper, media, can say anything about Mr Hart, having regard to the fact that he is under criminal charge ...That application will be made ex parte - that is without the judge hearing the input of anybody else but Mr Hart’s attorney."

So there is fear that, if the ex parte gag order is granted, from 03 May 2010, no-one will be able to write or mention Mr Calder Hart in the media without risking legal sanctions.  If this were true, perhaps the realms of eastern royalty and magic can provide a suitable workaround.

The country of Thailand has implemented lèse majesté laws since 1908. Lèse majesté is the crime of violating majesty, an offense against the dignity of a reigning sovereign or against a state.  There is current turmoil amongst the business class of Thailand relating to their fear of a destabilising royal succession - the current, widely beloved King of Thailand is 82 years old and his prospective successors aren't all popular - but the lèse majesté laws discourage frank talk about it.  According to the Economist's leader on 20 Mar 2010, "As father fades, his children fight":

"When a large Thai brokerage polled fund managers about political risk factors in 2010, 42% of respondents chose what the brokerage describes as 'a change that cannot be mentioned'."

If you are a fan of the successful Harry Potter series of books, you would know that the wizards were so afraid of the leading source of evil, Lord Voldemort, that they could not speak his name in public.  Thus developed their general practice of referring to him as 'He Who Must Not Be Named' (HWMNBN) and 'You Know Who' (YKW).

So from Monday 3rd May 2010, be prepared to hear and read about T&T's own YKW and the practices of The State Company That We Must Not Mention (TSCTWMNM).

PS: If you still haven't read the official Uff Report on the Commission of Enquiry into the Construction sector, get it here.