Analysis: Current Landscape of Hate Speech in Myanmar recording, publishing, or communicating “any secret official code or password, or any sketch, plan, model, article or note or other document or information which is calculated to be or might be or is intended to be, directly or indirectly, useful to an enemy.”499 This overly broad language has been used frequently to prosecute journalists and others, often in relation to their reporting on military activities.500 Recently, the Act was used to target two Reuters journalists, Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo, who were charged in December 2017 with exposing state secrets after they investigated the killing of Rohingya civilians.501 Presidential Directive on “Prevention of incitement to hatred and violence (or) Prevention of proliferation of hate speech. Lastly, on April 20, 2020, the Myanmar authorities issued a Presidential Directive on “Preven- tion of incitement to hatred and violence (or) Prevention of proliferation of hate speech.”502 Though late in coming, it is an important statement and the first of its kind regarding hate speech. It defines hate speech broadly as “communications of any kind that denigrate or express animosity towards a person or a group on the basis of religion, ethnicity, nationality, race, gender or other identity factor. Incitement to violence may constitute hate speech.”503 If read carefully, however, the directive does not prohibit such incitement as required by international law;504 it only asks authorities to “denounce and prevent” hate speech.505 Indeed, like the broadly worded laws above, the directive is short on spe- cifics and provides no information on what the government will actually do to protect and promote its ethnic and religious minority communities and safeguard civil society space from hate speech.506 Given the lack of the rule of law generally in the country507 as well as trends to suppress freedoms as discussed below, the concern is that either the directive will be ignored in practice or reinforce previous practices against those that the Myanmar authorities see as a threat to them. Targeting Civil Society and Freedom of Expression The targeting of civil society and those exercising their freedom of expression has manifested beyond the use of prosecutions as the government and authorities have utilized other tools to monitor, harass, and intimidate those who are critically important in a society’s efforts to counter hate speech. The gendered element of the targeting has been disturbing as well, and the overall effects of the targeting 499 500 501 502 503 504 505 506 507 Ibid., 3. Ibid. Ibid., 3-4. Myanmar Office of the President, Directive No. 3/2020, 13th Waning of Tagu, 1382 ME (April 20, 2020), https://www. president-office.gov.mm/en/?q=briefing-room/news/2020/04/21/id-10007 (hereinafter Directive No.3/2020). Ibid., para. 4. See Section IV.A infra for further discussion of human rights standards, including the requirement to prohibit incitement to discrimination, hostility, violence, and genocide. Directive No. 3/2020, para. 3 (“Therefore, all Ministries and all Regions and States Governments are to ensure that its personnel, officers, staff — whether military or other security forces, or civil services — and local people under its control or direction shall take all possible measures to denounce and prevent all forms of hate speech. All ministries, their agencies, departments and offices shall further encourage all personnel to participate in and support anti-hate speech activities.”). Ibid. See Section IV.B infra for further discussion of the importance of the rule of law and having independent adjudicators to evaluate hate speech cases given the threat that hate speech frameworks will be abused by authorities to suppress legitimate speech. 77