IS CRIMINAL DEFAMATION TO COME AGAIN IN DISGUISE?

Pros and cons of social media

- By M.S.M. Ayub

Unlike leaders of other political parties in the country, the National People's Power (NPP) leaders have been lodging complaints with the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) on defamation against them, especially in social media, for over a year.

They began to do so even before the last Presidential election as the mudslinging against the party was being intensified by the other major parties, particularly when the possibility of their party's victory was becoming more and more evident. Sunil Handunnetti, the current Minister of Industries, had on August 30 last year made a complaint alleging that another party was preparing to publish a misleading document under the name of his party leader, Anura Kumara Dissanayake.

The current Health and Media Minister Dr. Nalinda Jayatissa told media in September 24, last year, that his party had lodged another complaint with the CID over a public statement made by Samagi Jana Balawegaya Parliamentarian Thushara Indunil. According to Dr. Jayatissa, the latter had stated before the Presidential election that the NPP was planning to set fire to the houses of the opponents if it won the Presidential election.

Following the controversy over the doctorate allegedly held by the first Speaker of the NPP government, Asoka Ranwala, the opposition started to ridicule other such title holders of the party, claiming that the NPP was a bunch of fake intellectuals. When they targeted the Energy Minister, Engineer Kumara Jayakody, he approached the CID on December 16 with a complaint.

The doctorate hullabaloo

During this doctorate hullabaloo, Justice Minister Harshana Nanayakkara was in for a rude shock when he was told that his name in the Parliament website had been tagged with a doctorate, despite him not having a PhD. Though this was not a huge issue, and happened in an isolated context, an embarrassed minister requested the CID to initiate an investigation into the matter.