Sri Lanka, April 4 -- Where free speech is denied or curtailed, democracy is either flawed or does not exist. This universally embraced description of democracy declares that free elections alone do not make a democracy, but free speech, among other democratic principles, also matters.

The emphasis on free speech imbues freedom with its fullest meaning. However, freedom is not the freedom of the wild ass to be brayed about. It needs self-discipline for its own preservation. The old adage "my freedom ends where your nose begins" has a profound meaning. This is why states too intervene, imposing rules to safeguard national security and communal harmony, among other state objectives.

While recognising such conceptual and constitutional res...