Freedom of speech isn't an absolute right; rather it ends where the rights of others begin, said executive director of the Slovak National Centre for Human Rights (SNSLP) Marian Mesaroš in view of the current migration crisis and the attempts of many to stir up hatred towards migrants on the internet."Recently, we have seen Slovak society's fears of an increasing number of refugees that might end up in Slovakia. These fears are sometimes translated into dissatisfaction bordering on extremism and xenophobia. Slovakia is divided into two camps - those who fear the refugees' arrival and those who don't see any problem", he said. Xenophobia is exhibited as aversion, hostility and distrust towards everything that is foreign, a fear of aliens and hatred of them. Mesaroš sees these symptoms in Slovak society. "On a daily basis we encounter opinions that the refugees came to Europe to spread Islam or that there is a large number of terrorists among them, whether it's in blogs, comments or in a regular conversation. These fears may also stem from a lack of knowledge of different cultures, religions and traditions. It is a fact that people's exaggerated attitudes don't stem from their practical experience, but are to a great extent influenced by the media", concluded Mesaroš.
Over the past few months, the Slovak National Centre for Human Rights has recorded an increased amount of hate speech, manifestations of hate and racist comments about refugees that mostly are spread anonymously on the internet, predominantly on social networks. "Some of these comments may constitute the legal offence of incitement to national, racial or ethnic hatred, or defamation of a nation, race or belief. Such perpetrators could face criminal charges and so would hurt themselves and their families more than the groups targeted by their hate speech", said Mesaroš. More on this topic in Monday's edition of "Slovakia Today".
