Sri Lanka bars public officers from posting ‘views’
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SRI LANKA ordered civil servants last Wednesday (28) not to express opinions on social media after some officials claimed schoolchildren were fainting from a lack of food due to the country’s dire economic crisis.
In a fresh order to 1.5 million state employees, the Ministry of Public Administration and Management
said a long-established ban on speaking to reporters now extends to social media posts. “Expressing opinions on social media by a public officer... shall constitute an offence that leads to taking disciplinary action,” the order said.
It followed claims from provincial health officials and teachers that dozens of students were fainting in schools because of a lack of food.
Since late 2021, Sri Lanka’s 22 million people have been suffering the country’s worst-ever economic crisis after the government ran out of dollars to import many essentials.
Health minister Keheliya
Rambukwella dismissed claims of malnutrition among young children. He accused “politically motivated” public health workers of exaggerating the situation.
However, the World Food Programme said in its latest report that six million Sri Lankans are “food insecure and require humanitarian assistance”.