Govt too silent on rumours

The media is often accused of being irresponsible, if not downright malicious when it reports on matters that hurt people in high office. In this country where freedom of the Press is enshrined in the Constitution, threats of “criminal libel” are made to any reporter who in the course of his/her duties asks the first question on any matter of public interest. This is followed by attempts by those involved to clam-up on providing information that would confirm or deny the truth of an allegation being made.

For two months now rumours have been making the rounds in this country that something was happening with respect to Chief Justice Sat Sharma. A reporter of this newspaper first got wind of the rumour in December last year when she was told about it by usually reliable sources. The perils of serious libel were foremost in our minds as we sought to obtain clarification and the truth. But even as the rumours continued and grew no one from President down was prepared to enlighten the public — and this in a country where rumour and  gossip are a way of life and so easily take on a form of their own.

The fact is that for almost two months now there have been rumours of an attempt to interfere in a case before the nation’s courts. The matter was first unrobed within judicial circles, attorneys were made privy to the hearsay, which naturally leaked out to the media, with parliament also getting wind of it. Now, though swamped by Carnival revelery the rumour has finally made its way to the front pages and to the general public. In fact, the only group which seems to be keeping silent about this most dire allegation, is the Government of Trinidad and Tobago. We do not wish, nor do we think it necessary, to go into the specifics of the rumour. Informed citizens will already know what we are referring to.  But, as a responsible newspaper, we could not get more specific even if we wanted, because the matter we are referring to is still mere calumny. But, given the seriousness of the allegation, we cannot let the matter rest there.

This is particularly so since the Opposition has already begun making its own spin on the matter. Without any investigation, without offering even the slimmest evidence on which to pass judgement, the United National Congress has already decided that the PNM Government is guilty of a witch-hunt to remove the Chief Justice. We cannot say if this is so. But we can say that, by keeping its collective lip buttoned, the Manning administration is definitely guilty of letting this matter spin out of control.  There is no little irony here, given the penchant of Prime Minister Patrick Manning to speak out of turn on matters requiring grave deliberation: whether it is political union with other Caribbean countries, bogus kidnappings, Catholic archbishops, or taking sides with China against Taiwan.

With crime as the number one concern of citizens, the Government cannot allow public confidence in the judiciary to fall further. But the way to prevent this is not through spin, such as using suspect polls but by tackling the rumour head on.  Is there fire behind all this smoke?  If so, shouldn’t the State be initiating action to investigate whether there were any attempts by anyone to influence the handling of matters before the courts?

We realise that the Government is between a rock and a hard place. If they do take action, they will be accused of interfering with the Judiciary. But sitting on their hands has resulted in exactly the same accusation. What the Manning administration needs to realise is that, in politics, such heads — heads-I-win-tails-you-lose situations inevitably arise. And, when it happens, the political solution is one that hardly occurs to professional politicians: act on principle.

In this case, there is a particular procedure to be followed. It may be necessary to invoke this procedure, and do so soon. If the Government chooses to pretend that this matter doesn’t exist, rumour will gain more currency than fact, even if a belated attempt is made to bring out the facts. Only by being utterly transparent, and by acting in strict accordance to principle, can the Government hopes to contain the fall-out from this affair.