Hate speech to be dealt with under ER

• Communication, spreading of rumours, false statements prohibited under Emergency Regulations
• Govt. looking to amend or bring new laws to deal with hate speech
• Moves to bring laws after Digana incident last year made little progress
• LLRC in its report noted hate speech has contributed to major communal disharmony in the country over the past five decades
  
   

By Chandani Kirinde

Emergency Regulations that deal with communication or spreading of rumours and false statements will be utilised to curb the spread of hate speech and incitement, while the possibility of introducing legislation to deal with the issue is also under consideration.

Emergency Regulations in place also prohibit the affixing in any place visible to the public and distribution among the public any posters, hand bills or leaflets, the contents of which are prejudicial to public security, public order or the maintenance of supplies and services essential to the life of the community.

“At the moment Emergency Regulations are adequate to deal with hate speech, but we have been looking to amend existing laws or introduce new legislation in this connection since the Digana incidents,” Minister of Telecommunication and Digital Infrastructure Harin Fernando said.

He said the Ministry has been working with the Telecommunications Regulatory Commission (TRC) to monitor digital content over social media platforms such as Facebook, but legislation to curb hate speech and related offences is also being looked into.

Following the  anti-Muslim attacks last year, the Cabinet committee consisting of several institutions such as the Ministry of Finance and Mass Media, Law and  Order and Telecommunication, Digital Infrastructure and Foreign Employment and the TRC, made recommendations to the Cabinet regarding the measures that could be taken within the existing legal framework against the persons utilising social media networks, various websites, electronic media and print media who disseminate false information and publish defamatory statements.

However not much headway had been made since.

An official of the Attorney General’s Department said that they have not been consulted on any new legislation in this regard, but said those who engage in hate speech can be changed under the Emergency Regulations in place.

Enacting of deterrent laws against hate speech and strict enforcement was one of the recommendations of the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC) in its report submitted in 2011.

The Commission observed that “that during the last four to five decades there have been instances where ‘hate speech’ had contributed to major communal disharmony “and created disunity and conflict among communities.”