Keep hate speech and violence on the streets, not on Facebook, says Burma President

From our correspondent in Nay Pyi Daw

The Office of President Thein Sein has pledged to work with Facebook to ban accounts spreading hate speech in the run up to nationwide elections on November the 8th.

Presidential spokesperson Zaw Htay said the government will use draconian legal powers to apply their interpretation of Facebook community standards.

Amongst the banned activities on Facebook are: threats, intimidation, hateful or disturbing speech, releasing personal information, infringing copyrights, and inciting violence.

“When Myanmar citizens use Facebook they should not be using threats, intimidation, hateful or disturbing speech, or inciting violence. That’s the government’s job,” said Zaw Htay.

The President is reportedly concerned that momentum in promoting hate against religious and ethnic minorities, which has increased dramatically since Thein Sein became President, could be lost if confined to social media sites such as Facebook.

“We haven’t driven hundreds of thousands of Bengali’s out of Myanmar by posting rude Facebook messages,” a Presidential advisor told Burma Tha Din off the record. “We need violence on the streets. If we close the accounts of people spreading hate speech they will be forced onto the streets to spread the word, which is much more effective, as most people in Burma still don’t have internet access.”

The advisor said the proposals were a win win for the President, as he would receive praise from the international community for taking action on hate speech, whilst at the same time as promoting and using hate speech on the streets to counter the popularity of the NLD.

Ma Ba Tha, the government’s official hate speech organisation, also welcomed the move. Wirathu, described by President Thein Sein as a son of Buddha, told Burma Tha Din: “Facebook can be a useful tool, but with so many parts of Burma without internet or good communication, we find preaching hate speech on the ground with the people is the best way to spread the word about the dangers of the Saudi Arabian funded NLD turning Myanmar into a Caliphate. In any case, people keep hacking my accounts.”

Explaining the thinking of the President further, the advisor told Burma Tha Din: “Look at the Tatmadaw, they are making a practical difference on the ground, raping ethnic women, bombing the Kachin, slaughtering farmers in Kokang areas. Our party, the USDP, and the NLD, have banned Muslims from being MP candidates. Ma Ba Tha is preaching hate in every township across Burma, and even in meetings Parliament. And we have passed four anti-Muslim laws in just a few months. This is why the priority is to take action to stop hate speech on the Facebook social media site.”

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