Ramjattan leading fight to keep sedition clause alive

Cyber Crimes Bill

Chairman of the Alliance For Change (AFC), Khemraj Ramjattan, on Friday told a news conference that, despite concerns raised by some members of the party’s leadership and a public uproar regarding Section 18 (1) of the Cybercrime Bill of 2016, he is leading the charge to keep the offence of sedition on the books.
“Unless we want to do a major overhaul of your Criminal Offences Act and abolish sedition, then that’s fine; but as I am advised, and I am leading the charge for maintaining it in our books for very good reasons,” Ramjattan said.

About a week ago, AFC leader Raphael Trotman said the party would not support the sedition clause. He cited Section 18 (1) as not what modern and open democracies and government is all about. He stated that this view is shared by many within the party, and revealed that if the section is not amended, then he, along with other AFC Parliamentarians, would have to vote against it.
Section 18 (1) states that “A person commits an offence of sedition if the person, whether in or out of Guyana, intentionally publishes, transmits or circulates by use of a computer system or any other means, a statement or words, either spoken or written; a text, video, image, sign, visible representation, or other thing that bring or attempts to bring into hatred or contempt, or excites or attempts to excite disaffection towards the Government established by law in Guyana; advocates the use, without authority of law, of force as a means of accomplishing a governmental change within Guyana”, among other thing.
The Bill was first read by Attorney General Basil Williams on August 04, 2016, and was sent to a Special Select Committee, where it stayed for two years and came back to the National Assembly unchanged. After it came back to the National Assembly, the contents created quite an uproar, since it was perceived that freedom of expression is being stifled by the legislation.
“Of course, the concerns now coming means we will have to take a second look at it, but I want to make it clear that those who had indicated as if we are affecting freedom of expression, I have written many pieces on freedom of expression, and it is not going to, in any way, affect that; and that is why we were very cautious,” Ramjattan said.
“Although we have a Section 18 (1) that says sedition by use of computers or the Facebook and internet…we also have a paragraph 18-4 (b) that says criticisms of the Government, criticisms of any minister, and even wanting to lawfully change the Government does not constitute the offence of sedition,” the Minister added.
Section 18-4 (b) states, “For the purposes of subsection (1) – ‘disaffection’ includes disloyalty and all feelings of enmity; the following do not constitute an offence under subsection (1): (i) comments expressing disapprobation of the measures of the Government with a view to obtain their alteration by lawful means, without exciting or attempting to excite hatred, contempt or disaffection; (ii) comments expressing disapprobation of the administrative or other action of the Government without exciting or attempting to excite hatred, contempt or disaffection; (iii) comments that the President, Prime Minister or any Minister of the Government, or the Government has been misled or mistaken in their measures; (iv) comments that point out errors or defects in the Government, Constitution or Parliament; (v) comments that procure, by lawful means, the alteration of any matter of Government; and (vi) comments that point out, for the purpose of removal, matters that produce or tend to produce feelings of hostility and ill-will between different classes of persons in Guyana.”
Ramjattan, who also sits on the Special Select Committee that considered the proposed Bill, said that at the time during the meetings, everyone agreed with the Sedition Clause, but the concerns now require them addressing it. He claimed that the Sedition Clause is not going to affect freedom of expression, and noted that there is no provision in the current laws that caters for cybercrime.
He further explained that the Cybercrime Bills captures just that, by making provisions to punish those who utilise the power of the internet to commit crimes that lead to unrest.
“As I have said before, sedition is a tool to have in an executive branch, because sedition, as you know, is an offence that goes to the heart of civil strife in your country, and people publishing letters and all of that to ensure that there is civil disorder. It is a part of American law. It is a part of the laws of most Commonwealth countries, although it has been abolished in England,” Ramjattan posited.
Meanwhile, AFC Vice-Chairperson Cathy Hughes called on organizations and civil society to make use of the proper channels to raise their concerns.
The draft legislation is aimed at tackling the 21st century phenomenon of cybercrime. It treats with the creation of cybercrime offences, and contains provisions for penalties, investigations and prosecutions of such offences.