By Kuvee Kangueehi Windhoek Swapo Party MP, Peya Mushelenga, yesterday spoke out strongly against the defamatory letters and articles that have been circulating in newspapers in the country. Mushelenga said a trend of penning down letters and articles aimed at discrediting individual public personalities have been observed in the country over the past 10 years. Motivating a Motion on the State of the Nation’s Morality, with regard to the respect of elders and the social obligation towards them by younger members of the society, Mushelenga said the authors at times use scornful language and have no regard for elders. The youthful parliamentarian said there is an element of inflated arrogance and self-serving postulations in some of the scripts. “It is pathetic when some people become carried away by political dynamics and in their excitement go beyond moderate consciousness.” He said people should not allow themselves to become inebriated in pre-mature egoistic figments, resulting in inscription notoriety and misconstrued perceptions. He said despite the fact that people have freedom of speech guaranteed by the Constitution, freedom of speech should be exercised within the parameters of prudence and abstemiousness. “Democracy requires respect for democratic languages and should not denigrate other persons.” He warned that through politics and politicking, people should not drive the nation into impulsiveness, but that people should uphold morality and civility. He added that victims of belittling and defamation are not only public personalities but also older persons who do not deserve to be treated as such. “The integrity of any person is inviolable.” He urged younger parliamentarians to show respect for older parliamentarians even during debates. He said as individuals, they are bound to agree or disagree, but that should not take away the reality that some parliamentarians are more senior than others. Defamatory letters have been circulating in newspapers as well through electronic mail. Recently most of the letters made personal attacks against the Founding President Dr Sam Nujoma and other prominent politicians. These letters and articles are more frequent especially before major Swapo Party congresses. This is not the first time that politicians speak out against defamatory letters. Earlier Swapo Party President Nujoma condemned an anonymous writer known as “Ananais Nghifitikeko” and warned that the party will take serious steps against the culprit. Lately, a letter under the name Jonathan Cobra has been doing the rounds in a weekly newspaper. It is believed that the aim of the letters is to discredit leaders ahead of the Swapo congress.