The Ministry of Home Affairs has issued an order to public servants to refrain from criticizing the government and government policies on social media.
The letter, dated November 19, stated that the letter, which had previously been issued on 11-05, would be canceled. Public servants have been warned that criticizing the government and government policies on social media is a serious offense under the Establishment Code and disciplinary action will be taken if this order is violated.
The order further states that an investigation is being carried out with the assistance of the Information Technology Division to find the perpetrators and the government has taken this action following a complaint received that the divisional secretaries, development officers and civil servants are criticizing the government and the government’s policies on social media.
Recently several public servants who had criticized the government had been arrested on various occasions. Civil society organizations see this as a repression of public servants to avoid criticizing the government.
