Dear Editor,

The recent announcement by Prime Minister Andrew Holness that the Government will be clamping down on “fake news”, particularly on social media platforms, is a dangerous assault on the bedrock of democracy — freedom of speech.

Freedom of speech/expression is enshrined in Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. It was later protected legally by a raft of international and regional treaties.

While the Holness-led Government has the duty to prohibit hateful and spiteful speech and blogs online, it appears to me that the main objective of the prime minister is to prevent the Government which he leads from being held accountable. If one analyses his speech, one can’t help but conclude that it is not only an assault on free speech, but also an assault on equality of speech, whereby one has the right to agree or disagree with those in power or those seeking power.

What does he mean by, “We will track you down”? Who are the “we” he speaks of?

Holness should realise that some 2,500 years before him, dating back to the Athenian democracy, these fundamental rights were guaranteed to the common man, be he old or young.

Holness had been showing his dictatorial tendencies long before this unfortunate announcement. This tip-toe dictatorship, if allowed to mushroom, will eventually see the removal of freedom of association, the right to form or join clubs, trade unions, and the right to peaceful assembly or even to join political parties.

While this may seem far-fetched, dictatorship does not descend upon a democracy overnight. Most governments and leaders that exhibit dictatorial tendencies are often fearful of critical voices that express concerns about accountability, injustice, equality, corruption, and the right to a decent standard of living.

I think that what Holness is doing is the “water test”, whereby he dips his feet in the proverbial water to see how deep he should plant his feet in his dictatorial quest and how civil society will react.

My grandmother once told me, “Don’t look at the rat trap and say it wasn’t set for you, you may just fly it and it catches your toes and rips them off.” The moral of her statement is: Be careful when traps are around, even if it was not intended for you.

If this trap of a tip-toe dictatorship flies, all of us will be caught in it, and it can only be avoided if it becomes a ballot box issue.

Fernandez Smith

fgeesmith@yahoo.com