The injunction is unprecedented, in Belize at least, because once libel suits are lodged, experienced defendants normally police themselves. In other words, defendants tread carefully when making public reference to litigant plaintiffs, because they do not wish to aggravate any potential damages. The normal plaintiff, then, would benefit from continuing defamation by a defendant, because more defamation means more money in the form of aggravated damages.

But the issue here is not money. The principals on both sides are very wealthy, especially, of course, the two political parties themselves. So the issue is not money. It is politics. But, you may say, Lois Young is not a politician. This is what makes her so devastating to the PUP government. And that is why they went hard after her.

You know, it has seemed to us over these 37 years that we have been around and about, that one of the most important qualities one must have to be successful in Belizean politics, is the ability to convince other people to do your dirty work, the ability to enjoy the hypocrisy of benefiting from filth.

Almost thirty years ago, the ruling PUP, under pressure from the Dean Lindo-led UDP, went to great extremes to have the young lawyer, Lois Young, as one of their candidates for the 1977 Belize City Council elections. Politically in 1977, Lois was pristine. She was a hot ticket. But Lois, it turned out, was not good political material. The problem was, and is ? Lois is honest. The one thing that Lois is not, is a hypocrite. (Needless to say, this is mere opinion. We speak not ex cathedra.)

There is in the nature of the legal profession, however, a fundamental duplicity. The law is not about right or wrong. The law is not about good or bad. The law is a verbal and conceptual game, and the law is, like politics, first and foremost about money. Lois was BTL?s lawyer for years, which meant, for all intents and purposes, she was on Lord Michael Ashcroft?s payroll. When it was that such an attorney-client relationship ended, we cannot really say, but when Lois stood up in the seemingly illegal BTL annual general meeting on September 25, her attempt to have the Chief Justice?s injunction respected, amounted to behaviour hostile to BTL/Lord Michael Ashcroft.

At the same time, as a high profile activist in the Association of Concerned Belizeans (ACB) since mid-2004, Lois? outspoken brilliance has hurt the ruling PUP big time, and assisted materially in the resurrection of the UDP.

Remember that in February of 2004, when the UDP went to the streets of Belize City to demonstrate, the impact was disappointing, but when the UDP marched in late August of that same year with the committed support of so-called civil society (ACB, the unions, et al) the march was gargantuan, impressive. There are other things which have conjointly met, besides ACB and Lois Young, to fuel the UDP?s energy since August of 2004, but Lois Young?s militancy at the BTL AGM on September 25, 2006, was the straw that broke the camel?s back where the PUP was concerned. The PUP went ?ballistic.?

The present scenario has elements of humor where we are concerned. Every weekday morning, Dean O. Barrow?s radio station features performances which are vile and vulgar. For Barrow to be screaming foul in the matter of political rhetoric is what the Creole people would call ? ?kettle di cuss pot.? But, you see, there are games within games. Already, the PUP is seeking to have the Court of Appeal lift the Chief Justice?s injunction in the Lois matter.

Our position on Partridge Street is that we really need to have a media association in Belize. Such a proposition has never worked because whichever party is ruling at any given time, will mash it up. One important aspect of a media association would be where self-regulation is concerned. The politicians and their political parties should not be as involved in the media marketplace as they are.

So. It may be that Lois Young did not realize how much of a hurt she was putting on the PUP, not to mention the mighty Lord of Lords. If she didn?t realize before, she realizes now, after the last three newspaper issues from Queen Street. The PUP, Lois should know, will find a way to put hurt on her. She will therefore need to develop a thicker skin. It?s rough out here. For real.