I support wholeheartedly the argument of Drs Chisholm and Sheather (1) in their essay in IJME that silence is not an option in times of conflict; but suggest that there are other situations in which this principle applies. Since the authors have referred to the World Medical Association (WMA) in their essay, I request them to favour us with their opinion on the deafening silence maintained by the British Medical Association on the troubling issue of Dr Ketan Desai being elected President of the WMA despite his being on trial in a court of law in India for corruption.