The Hon. Ananda Wijepala - Minister of Public Security and Parliamentary Affairs

¶ 01 ARRESTS MADE OVER SPREADING FALSE INFORMATION ON SOCIAL MEDIA: STATEMENT

¶ 02 Mr. Speaker, as I informed this House yesterday, I wish to clarify the background and reasons relating to several arrests made over the past few days.

¶ 03 First, let me reiterate: the mandate obtained by the National People’s Power (NPP) at the recent General Election was a popular verdict against communalism, a people’s mandate for national unity. The results clearly show that Sri Lankans in both the North and the South set aside ethnic and religious divisions. The NPP is a movement opposed to all forms of ethnic and religious extremism. That is why we were able to obtain a majority mandate across communities. Opposing communalism is central to the people’s mandate we received.

¶ 04 There was much public discussion recently regarding Maaveerar commemorations. Our position is as follows: we accept that anyone has the right to remember their deceased relatives. That is true in the North, the South, and every province. However, as the LTTE is a proscribed organization, displaying its flags, symbols or emblems at commemorations cannot be permitted. A statement I made at Ehetuwewa in Galgamuwa was maliciously and falsely reported by a certain newspaper.

¶ 05 My statement was completely distorted to convey a false meaning. I have lodged a complaint with the Criminal Investigation Department and an investigation is underway. During the Maaveerar Week from 21 to 27 November, Police recorded 244 commemorative events in the North. Of these, only 10 involved displays of certain LTTE-related symbols. Police have taken legal action accordingly. Two cases have been reported to the Kilinochchi Magistrate’s Court, four to the Puthukudiyiruppu Magistrate’s Court, and one to the Jaffna Magistrate’s Court. Investigations continue.

¶ 06 In Chunnakam, an individual was arrested for promoting the LTTE and, upon being produced before the Jaffna Magistrate, was remanded until today, 04 December. In recent weeks, a large volume of malicious, fabricated and distorted content has circulated on social media, stoking hatred by exploiting the North’s commemorations to mislead people in the South.

¶ 07 Many of these posts used old images to suggest they were from this year’s events in the North—some from 2018 and 2022 LTTE commemorations; some from overseas events. These images and videos were downloaded from the internet and used by certain organized groups operating social media in the South to incite inter-ethnic discord by falsely claiming they depicted 2024 events in Jaffna or the Eastern Province. None of those images were from this year’s local commemorations; they are clearly from different countries and past years.

¶ 08 The narrative being pushed is that after Anura Dissanayake came to power, LTTE commemorations freely took place in the North. Certain individuals used social media to present foreign images as if they were taken in Jaffna this year. We monitored and investigated these campaigns and identified that an organized, politically bankrupt group was behind them. The Police have acted against this disinformation. Several individuals have been arrested.

¶ 09 One person from the North has been arrested. Additionally, a resident of Baddegama was arrested on 29 November under the provisions previously indicated and produced before the Baddegama Magistrate, who initially remanded him until 3 December and then further until 17 December. A resident of Maradana was arrested on 30 November for misleading the public via a Facebook account by using images from abroad and suggesting they were from Jaffna, thereby inciting communal tensions. He was remanded until 2 December and later released on bail.

¶ 10 Another individual from Boralesgamuwa was arrested on 1 December and remanded until 4 December by the Colombo Magistrate’s Court. He had contested the last election under the “Gas Cylinder” symbol and is a political activist. Their statements reveal a coordinated effort to embarrass the Government, incite communalism, and lay the groundwork for a renewed North-South conflict through hate-filled messaging. Police have full independence to act; the decision to produce suspects before court lies with the investigating officers. We have ensured the environment for independent policing.

¶ 11 Two of those arrested are activists of the party bearing the “Gas Cylinder” symbol; one contested at the last General Election. We are investigating who amplified these narratives on social media; several politically affiliated groups are implicated. Some try to portray these arrests as violations of media freedom or freedom of speech. We are firmly committed to freedom of speech and expression as guaranteed by the Constitution.

¶ 12 However, constitutional freedoms have limits. They cannot be used to foment ethnic or religious hatred. This country has paid a heavy price to communalism throughout history—tens of thousands of youth lost. Politicians have used communalism both to gain and to retain power. In 2015, a conspiracy spread myths about “infertility pills,” “infertile garments,” “infertile doctors,” and similar racist propaganda across the country, culminating in the Easter Sunday attacks—now universally recognized. Those conspirators may have achieved limited political gains, but as a nation, we all were defeated.

¶ 13 Therefore, any attempt to inflame communal sentiments threatens our historic opportunity to build a unified Sri Lankan nation. We are aware of numerous distortions and fabricated campaigns circulating against the Hon. President Anura Kumara Dissanayake and me as Minister. We are undeterred. We will not allow any effort to rekindle communalism or reignite North-South discord. If existing laws are insufficient, as the Government’s Chief Organizer said yesterday in this House, we will bring new laws to ensure communalism is curtailed, and to build a country of unity and peace. The Ministry of Public Security will take responsibility to prevent a resurgence of communalism.

¶ 14 Thank you.