Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya has said that comments made on social media targeting children, women and vulnerable people demonstrate the need for a more cultured and sensitive society.
She made the remarks on Sunday (6) at the Gampaha Literary Festival (GAMLIT 26), held at the Gampaha Municipal Council Auditorium, where she attended as Chief Guest. Both Ada Derana and Daily Mirror attributed the account to the Prime Minister’s Media Division.
The argument
Amarasuriya, a sociologist by training, drew a distinction between education and culture. A cultured person, she said, is not someone who possesses knowledge acquired from books or who can reproduce memorised information — it is someone who has undergone an inner transformation through literature and artistic expression, and who brings humanity and sensitivity into society.
A person who has developed that sensitivity, she said, would not deliberately humiliate, hurt or disrespect another individual.
She described the festival’s theme, “In Search of a Cultured Citizen”, as timely, and said the objective of forming cultured people is also reflected in the Government’s policy statement.
Framed against the Government’s record
The Prime Minister said that alongside rebuilding the economy, developing infrastructure and strengthening state institutions, creating people capable of transforming society is a key responsibility of the Government. She placed the remarks in the context of the administration marking two years in office — the same milestone the NPP is currently touring the country to mark through a series of public rallies.
She also said the Government has a responsibility to create pathways for schoolchildren based on their individual talents and abilities.
Before the festival, Amarasuriya visited exhibition stalls set up by schoolchildren in art, literature and technology, listened to their presentations on emerging trends in those fields, and presented gifts and certificates to students and participating schools.
Neither report indicates that the Prime Minister proposed any regulatory or legislative response to online abuse, and neither names any specific incident or platform.
