Harsha tells private sector to put up or shut up about bribery

Economic Affairs Deputy Minister Dr. Harsha de Silva

By Charumini de Silva-Thursday, 27 July 2017

Economic Development Deputy Minister Dr. Harsha De Silva yesterday hushed a packed audience at the Sri Lanka Economic Summit 2017, calling on the private sector to refrain from pointing fingers at corrupt systems unless they were serious about putting a stop to bribery from the bottom right up to the top at Government agencies by not indulging in the practice to get their work done.

“I want people here who have not paid a bribe to any government agency to get a job done. Stand up. If you cannot stand up, shut up! If you are serious on corruption, then don’t do it again. If you are going around and paying your local government people to get your plan passed, what kind of b******t are you coming and telling me here?” he said.

“You have to be serious about this. If you are not serious, don’t just point fingers. It is easy to point fingers and it is difficult not to pay that bribe. So before we talk about corruption again let us not corrupt ourselves,” he claimed.

Dr. De Silva emphasised that Sri Lanka was poor because people were corrupt.

“When I ask my friends ‘why did you do that?’ (pay a bribe) they say, it is a lot of time. I have a job, I am a doctor, lawyer, engineer, I need to get it done. I need to pay.  So it is justified. From the bottom to the top if it is justified then do not turn around and say how we are going to take this country out of corruption because you are part of that corruption,” he added.

“I may be not be very popular for saying these things but this is the truth my friend,” he stated.

When Dr. De Silva was asked to consider the low salaries paid to many employers, he said: “If it is corruption it is either yes or no. Just like in pregnancy, there is no little pregnancy. Either you are pregnant or not. So if you start a little corruption, it is going to be big corruption. You cannot stop it. It is like a cancer, there is no chemotherapy for corruption.”

However, acknowledging that perhaps there are certain people that are underpaid, he stressed that even he was underpaid.

“I am not paid enough. With all the allowances it is only about Rs. 250,000. It is one consultation for all you lawyers here. But does that mean you have to bribe me? No one forced us to run a campaign. We came and asked for your votes. So it was our voluntary effort to have come here as politicians,” he added.

He said eradicating corruption had to be a joint effort of society.

While agreeing with Dr. De Silva, International Trade State Minister Sujeewa Senasinghe insisted that politicians were also responsible to some extent.

“We are trying to put it right. We have a responsibility as ministers to put our agencies in place. In my ministry I do that as much as possible,” he said.

Admitting that these systems have evolved for years to their current level of bribery, Senasinghe nevertheless stressed that as public servants, everyone should do their best to offer the general public a better service so that they did not have to pay bribes.

He also said that it was wrong to say they can eradicate corruption, but what they could do it to minimise and make systems more transparent leaving no space for bribes. “There can be corruption in this Government, but there will be transparency and legal means that will take care of it and that is the difference.”

While pointing out that the Coalition Government has investigated a lot of incidents within a very short span of time, Senasinghe however said he was disappointed with some of the allegations not being looked into.

 “On the allegations that were made, which the Government has failed to take action, even I am very disappointed on that,” he claimed.

Justice Minister Dr. Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe said the duty of the Government was to install a mechanism to minimise corruption.

“We have set out what should be the mechanism and that is why we brought the 19th Amendment, set up several independent commissions to investigate these issues,” he pointed out.

He noted that eradication of corruption could not be done by politicians alone, insisting that they could only minimise it as it was one of their election promises.

Dr. Rajapakshe also emphasised that politicians could not get involved in investigations. “We can complain, people can complain, but we as politicians cannot implement the law. It is now their (commission’s) duty. What the politicians can do is to have the will to curb corruption. Now that political will is there. Otherwise if we go to investigate then there will be allegations of political interference. How can it be good governance when politicians give directions to the Police or to the Bribery Commission?”

The Minister asserted that this level of investigation or implementation of the law was not possible during the past 15 years. The last 20 years there was no implementation of the law concerning those allegations. 

Shiranthi and son Yoshitha summoned to CID over Thajudeen brutal murder !

(Lanka-e-News - 26.July.2017, 11.30PM) Former First lady Shiranthi Rajapakse and son Yoshitha Rajapakse were notified to appear before  the CID over the brutal murder of popular  Rugby player Wasim Thajudeen for interrogation. Shiranthi has been asked to be present at the CID on the 27 th  at 9.30 a.m. , while Yoshitha has been summoned to be present on the 28 th morning.

It is well to recall the media earlier reported the vehicle that came to abduct Thajudeen  belonged to the Red Cross and was gifted to Shiranthi , and it was with the latter until now.

The senior DIG Anura Senanayake a suspect who tried to suppress this cold blooded brutal murder and camouflage it as a  vehicle accident was earlier arrested , and was in remand custody for over a year. He was enlarged on bail recently . Interestingly , Anura Senanayake making a daring statement in court earlier on revealed that the actual murderers are free.

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by     (2017-07-26 22:00:19)

Ravi Karunanayake Should Resign, Not Because Aluthgamage Says So

By Shyamon Jayasinghe –JULY 26, 2017

Shyamon Jayasinghe

“It is another matter that the very fact that investigators now, unlike during Rajapakse rule, invade the person of powerful political figures stands as a most refreshing outcome of yahapalanaya.”

The gentleman by the name of Ravi Karunanayake, Minister of Foreign Affairs, is one of the black sheep falling off from the broad ranks of the yahapalanaya movement. He must resign; if he doesn’t, he must be removed. This is not because former Minister Mahindananda Aluthgamagesays so; that was a the pot calling the kettle black. It is easy to explain why.

Yahapalanaya -not the Property of any Political Group

Firstly, let us all realise that Yahapalanaya is not the property of any political group. It is a social movement originally led by the Late Revd Maduluwawe Sobita that took off during the later stages of the Rajapaksa ten-year-old regime. Socially conscious intellectuals and others banded together to change the direction of the country on to a sustainable path defined  by democratic freedoms, accountability, and the supremacy of law and order. This, they saw, as the fundamental base from which economic and social development can be predicated and the life of people made to flourish. The present government is only the chosen political instrument for that transformation. If the government fails to deliver, the movement will opt for another political instrument. Black sheep will fall by the wayside.

From the vantage point of my location in a country (Australia) defined by established systems of yahapalanaya, I have mentally aligned myself with this civil movement.  Our country profoundly needed a broad social movement emerging from the civil community since the more progressive of the political class seemed locked in an intrinsic inability to extricate itself from the menacing shackles and growing darkness of the Rajapaksa regime. The Mahanayakes and the GMOA, who shout now, were conspicuous by their inactivity then-at the hour of national crisis.

Ravi’s Myth Building

To begin with, I didn’t like Minister Ravi advertising himself with third party testimonials as  “the best Minister of Finance,” somewhere. What a wise move it was, made just in the nick of time, to have replaced this best Foreign Minister! Simultaneously, what an unwise move to have attached the Lotteries Board to his new portfolio of Foreign Affairs!  Sans any logic, it also smelt bad. Yet, Ravi got into the saddle. He now talks of “commercialising,” the orientation of the Foreign Service. As if that styling wasn’t there in the first place!  I am fed up with these kinds of slogans which our politicians have been feeding on. Be it “Gam Udawa,” Uthuru Wasanthaya,” or “Mathata Thithak”-these slogans have not meant anything real in the life of our people. They are meant to deceive by myth-building. I am glad President Sirisena has not come out with something like that.  Or has he?

Our religious leadership, educational institutions and media have never made it their serious responsibility to help build a critical community that would see through political myth-building. They want a worshipping community. Why on earth should we worship any entity-God,King, monk, or other person? The media is still full of astrology and superstition stalks our island.

The News Story

Let’s extract the story from a news report (Colombo Telegraph 26/7/17):

“Anika Wijesuriya, this morning told the Commission to inquire into the Bond Scandal that, her super luxury apartment at the Monarch Residencies was taken on lease by Arjun Aloysius who paid for it on behalf of the then finance Minister Ravi Karunanayake.

She also said that Arjun Aloysius had called her and told her to “destroy” the lease agreement pertaining to the transaction.

When deciding to give it on rent, Karunanayake’s wife Mela had called the brother of Anika who had then put her in touch with Anika.

The wife of the minister had then arrived at the apartment to inspect the apartment with two bodyguards. Thereafter she had taken a call and told the witness that, “a person known to both of us will be here.”

A short while after, Arjun Aloysius had arrived at the apartment. Thereafter, following discussions the witness said it was clear that Arjun was going to pay the rent for the house in which the Karunanayakes were moving into.

The entire lease amounting close to 9 million was paid for by a company named Walter and Rowe which Arjun and his father Geoff are both Directors. It is a fully owned subsidiary of the holding company of Perpetual treasuries.

Thereafter the Karunanayakes had moved into the apartment.

Accordingly, following the end of the lease period of 6 months, which commenced in February 2016, the Karunanayakes had decided to buy the apartment. Their family company of which Mela and the daughter are Directors had paid 165 million rupees and purchased the apartment the witness said.

The witness also said that Arjun Aloysius had called her last week and insisted that she destroyed the lease agreement. She said that she had decided against it.

She also said that the current Minister of Foreign Affairs Ravi Karunanayake had called her father Nikhil last week.

The witness said that she knew that the information on the transaction had been found out by the investigators when officers of the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) visited her in March this year.

The witness Anika, provided her name as Muthukudarachchige Vinodini in order to protect her identity during testimony.”

Read More

Ravi Karunanayake goes through a political turbulence

2017-07-27

It appeared to be a politically malefic time for Foreign Affair Minister Ravi Karunanayake. Hot on the heels of revelations against him during the proceedings of the Presidential Commission investigating the Bond scam the other day, he was in for a rude shock as three of his Cabinet papers were turned down by President Maithripala Sirisena on Tuesday.

• Three Cabinet papers submitted by Ravi rejected
• Chief-of-staff meant only for Prez, PM
• Nominations would be called for Eastern, Sabaragamuwa, NCP Councils after Oct.1? 

In one Cabinet memorandum submitted by him, he asked the government to assign ‘Visumpaya’ an official residence of the government to him for occupation.

Visumpaya, located in Lillie Street, Colombo 2 is a luxury residence used for visiting heads of state and local government ministers. Minister Karunanayake sought luxury living in this house. Nonetheless, the President was not in favour of this proposal.  

“This is a post meant for the President and the PM. If I give you this, others would also ask. Is that so?” asked the President. Adding more humour to the situation, then, all the Cabinet Ministers raised their hands to show that they all wanted such posts

The President said this was previously occupied by former Minister, the late Anura Bandaranaike, former Prime Minister D. M. Jayaratne and former External Affairs Minister Prof. G.L. Peiris. The President said none of them was in Parliament these days.

“It seems that politicians use this official residence during their later years in parliamentary politics. Therefore, it is better for you to avoid the place now,” he remarked jovially.

Sports Minister Dayasiri Jayasekara, who was at loggerheads with Minister Karunanayake on some matters, also cracked a joke in this regard. “We do not want Minister Karunanayake to quit parliamentary politics that soon,” he said.  

Currently, the govt has assigned Visumpaya to the Ministry of Megapolis and Western Development Minister Patali Champika Ranawaka is to develop it as a State Guest House to function under the purview of the UDA.  

In another Cabinet memorandum submitted by the Foreign Affairs Minister seeking to vest ‘the Sri Lanka Buddhist Pilgrims’ Rest in New Delhi’ with Sri Lanka Branch of Mahabodhi Society headed by Ven. Banagala Upatissa Thera.  

The pilgrims’ rest providing transit accommodation for pilgrims from Sri Lanka was a gift by former Indian PM Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru and was declared open by the former Premier himself on November 30, 1960.

It is now functioning under the patronage of Sri Lanka High Commission in New Delhi. The Minister wanted this to be entrusted with Sri Lanka Branch of Mahabodhi Society. However, the Minister did not get the green light for it as well from the President or from the entire Cabinet for that matter. So, it was as yet another disappointment for Minister Karunanayake.

In this third Cabinet paper, he asked for permission to appoint a Chief of Staff for him. The President is reported to have been miffed by this proposal as he turned it down straight away. In fact, the President said all the Cabinet Ministers would seek similar appointments in case this was granted.  
Upon seeing the paper, the President had a smile on his face first. “This is a post meant for the President and the PM. If I give you this, others would also ask. Is that so?” asked the President. Adding more humour to the situation, then, all the Cabinet Ministers raised their hands to show that they all wanted such posts. They did so smiling and laughing.


Afterwards, at one point, Law and Order Minister Sagala Ratnayake remarked that he was the Chief of Staff for the PM at present, but he did not draw any salary or extra payment for it. Finance Minister Mangala Samaraweera responded to him saying, “I heard you have been assigned a separate room to work.” That way, the Cabinet conducted its serious business, but on a humorous note.

Western nations had started hurling human rights allegations against Sri Lanka as they were annoyed by the country drifting towards China. He said these were baseless accusations, speaking of the west’s double standard applied here - Minister Champika Ranawake

Ministers debate on China’s role

Besides, the Cabinet took up for discussion in great detail about the agreement to lease out a stake of the Hambantota Port to a Chinese company. Last time, Development Strategies and International Trade Malik Samarawickrama presented the Cabinet paper. It ran into controversy evoking criticism from various quarters including a section of the Cabinet itself.

However, Ports and Shipping Minister Mahinda Samarasinghe brought the latest proposal and briefed the Cabinet about its nitty-gritty. After the briefing, the Ministers started airing out their views on geopolitical connotations on involving China in a major way in the country.

Minister Patali Champika Ranawaka opined that the western nations had started hurling human rights allegations against Sri Lanka as they were annoyed by the country drifting towards China. He said these were baseless accusations, speaking of the west’s double standard applied here.

“The western countries have introduced draconian laws to deal with ISIS terrorists. Yet, they fault us for our approaches in countering terrorism. This is hypocrisy. Otherwise, there are no widespread abuses of human rights here though allegations have been made,” he said.  

He also said there were two allies in the world today with one led by China and Russia and the other by the United States, India etc.
However, Finance Minister Mangala Samaraweera countered him in this respect. He reportedly shot back at Minister Ranawaka and defended the western countries talking about human rights. He said China had invested heavily even in the UK, and as such, there was no nexus between investment projects and human rights issues. Minister Samaraweera recalled how Britain accorded a right Royal welcome to Chinese President Xi Jinping by taking him in a Royal Carriage about two years ago.

Disaster Management Minister Anura Priyadarshana Yapa mentioned the railway track built between China and a German city. Mangala Samaraweera corrected it by saying the line was slated to be extended up to London.

PM Ranil Wickremesinghe submitted a paper seeking to work out a new electoral system which is a mix of the current Proportional Representation and the First Past the Post in view of the Provincial Councils as in the case of the local authorities. The move is bound to entail a legal wrangle as the parties advocating due elections are already planning to resort to legal action  

Legal wrangle likely on move to postpone PC elections 

The govt is already under criticism for delaying the elections to the local authorities. In the meantime, doubts were raised in political circles whether the govt would attempt to dodge elections to the three Provincial Councils due this year.  

Credence was given to such doubts when the Cabinet of Ministers decided to withhold such elections till a new electoral system was introduced.  

In this exercise, PM Ranil Wickremesinghe submitted a paper seeking to work out a new electoral system which is a mix of the current Proportional Representation and the First Past the Post in view of the Provincial Councils as in the case of the local authorities. The move is bound to entail a legal wrangle as the parties advocating due elections are already planning to resort to legal action.  
In terms of Article 154E, the Eastern, Sabaragamuwa and North Central Provincial Councils will stand dissolved by September/October. It means the Elections Commission is bound to call for nominations after October 1.

Bond scam probe:Mahendran hands over two mobile phones to CID; Ravi doesn’t turn up

By Shamindra Ferdinando-July 26, 2017, 11:04 pm 

Presidential Commission of Inquiry (CoI) yesterday ordered former Central Bank Governor Arjun Mahendran to immediately hand over his hand phones, tab computers and laptops used since January 1, 2015.

The order followed an application made by Additional Solicitor General Yasantha Kodagoda. Directions were issued to Mahendran’s counsel within 30 minutes after having initially reserved the order.

At the time Singaporean national Mahendran received appointment on January 15, 2015, he served as the Chief Investment Officer at Dubai-based Emirates NBD’s wealth management arm.

The CoI comprises Supreme Court Judges Kankani Tantri Chitrasiri and Prasanna Sujeewa Jayawardena and retired deputy Auditor General Velupillai Kandasamy.

President Maithripala Sirisena replaced Mahendran with Dr. Indrajith Coomaraswamy in June 2016.

The order was given yesterday in the wake of President’s Counsel Rienzie Arsakularatne informing CoI of Foreign Minister Ravi Karunanayake’s inability to appear before the CoI as his presence was required at the National Security Council (NSC). The CoI received an assurance from Counsel that FM Karunanayake would appear before CoI next Wednesday (Aug.2).

Karunanayake held finance portfolio till late May this year. Then Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera switched portfolios with Karunanayake.

Minister Karunanayake was served summons last Saturday (July 22) to appear before CoI on Tuesday (July 25). Karunanayake didn’t respond to the summons on the basis he had to attend the cabinet meeting as well as parliamentary proceedings on that day.

Addressing the parliament on Tuesday Minister Karunanayake strongly denied evidence given by Vinodhani Wijesuriya in respect of luxury 4,000-square-foot penthouse at Monarch Residencies, situated at Colombo 03 occupied by the Karunanayakes at the expense of Arjun Aloysius. The Karunanayakes had moved into the penthouse owned by Ms Wijesuriya in Feb 2016 for a period of eight months.

Well informed sources told The Island that the CoI expected Mahendran to hand over the devices yesterday (Wednesday) in accordance with the directive.

Kodagoda explained that the request had been made against the backdrop of some losing their hand phones, destruction of phones and phone being dropped in a swimming pool in Singapore recently.

In spite of strong objections made by Mahendran’s counsel Chana de Silva during brief proceedings, the former CB Governor last evening handed over two phones to the Secretary of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) assisting the CoI.

Earlier, Mahendran’s son-in-law Arjun Aloysius handed over his hand phone after having claimed that the phone he used in 2015 was destroyed in Singapore.

CoI sources said that modern technology allowed experts to garner vital information. Both Arjuna Mahendran and Arjun Aloysius are now expected to be summoned within the next few weeks.

Secretary to the CoI Sumathipala Udugamsuriya yesterday told The Island that it wouldn’t meet on Thursday (July 27) though Friday proceedings would take place as scheduled. Udugamsuriya said that Mahendran’s communication devices were expected to be handed over during the day.

Meanwhile, Minister Karunanayake yesterday said that an attempt was being made to tarnish his image and he would respond to various claims made in respect of him before the CoI next Wednesday. The minister was addressing a gathering at his ministry. The UNPer declared that he had nothing to hide and was ready to face the CoI.

Exotic new Income Tax Law: Is it the solution for the Sri Lankan problem?

Tuesday, 25 July 2017

In biology an “exotic” species, is a species of animal or plant which is foreign to the region or country. Many nations have strict rules and controls against the introduction of exotic species due to the fear of damage and havoc they may create to the local environment. However, an exception is made when an animal or plant is introduced to solve a serious imbalance in the environment such as another animal overrunning the country.

Our economy is seriously imbalanced, which is indicated by Government spending exceedingGovernment income for many decades. The proponents believe, the new “exotic” Inland Revenue Act imported from Africawill assist in rebalancing the economy.

It seems the focus is to improve the collection of taxes. The goal is praise worthy, but is this the correct tool? Answering this question requires the outlining of the Sri Lankan problem.


Sri Lankan problem 

Collection of taxes are broadly dependent on the administration, policy and on people’s trust that the taxes they pay are fair. The above three elements are not exhaustive but are the most significant.


Poor administration

Sri Lankan tax administration has been beleaguered for a long time from a lack of Investment in the collection infrastructure and the training and development of Inland Revenue Officers. It seems unclear how a change in the law will resolve the above stated lack of investment.

In addition to the new law the Inland Revenue Department is also introducing a new Revenue Administration Information System. The steep learning curve due to the combination of new law and new IT system will further burden the beleaguered administration


Industry-specific policies to be eliminated

Policy simplification is a mantra repeated by many governments and it seems that when it comes to Income Tax,this new law may be the simplest. Benefits and exemptions have been removed for most industries, excluding a few select industries such as agriculture and tourism. Hence, it is a success in this regard, however it is important to appreciate that different industries have varied requirements, are at varied stages of development and benefit the country differently.

This new law is definitely strengthening tax collection, but appears to be at the expense of important activities such as research, brand promotion and training as the triple deduction benefit related to such activities have been removed. Additionally, the new law does not encourage the setup of global MNCs in sri lanka, the repatriation of income for services and investments in fixed assets. This is a major shift in policy that may affect our foreign currency flows and reserves.


Trust deficit

Tax collection’s other hidden factor is the trust surplus or deficit between the Government and its people, resulting from the imposition, collection and the fairness of appellate procedure in relation to taxes. There is a clear trust deficit between successive governments and the citizens who are liable to pay taxes.

Trust has eroded due to excessive assessments, arbitrary imposition of new laws, retrospective amendments and not fulfilling promises. One such example is the granting and the subsequent removal of amnesty.  This has resulted in the shadow economy prevailing very vibrantly in the country, as people are uneasy to believe that governments will not completely change policies year on year.

The new law, if retrospectively administered without a clear transition policy between the old and the new law, will result in increasing the distrust between the taxpayers and the Government. Trust is created by consistency.


Principles of the old law

The cornerstone of the old law is the principle of natural justice, which provides a person with the right to be heard and to receive reasons for assessments. These principles have evolved from a public’s necessity for a fair and just process.

In the 1960s, there were many excessive and unreasonable assessments as Inland Revenue Officersabused their power, which led to taxpayers being put under undue stress. The laws were subsequently amended and were held strong and firm by the Judiciary of the country. The Supreme Court ruled many cases in the favour of taxpayers where reasons were not given and where the taxpayer was not given the right to be heard.


Focus on the purpose

Our country needs a revamp of its tax laws, but in the push for collection of taxes, many of the strengths of the old laws must not be lost. Simply put, we hope that this revamp in the push for simplification and collection does not “throw the baby out with the bathwater”.

Israel spied on interfaith delegation’s emails, rabbi says

Members of an interfaith delegation to Palestine were barred on Israeli orders from boarding flights originating in the US. (JVP)

Asa Winstanley-

26 July 2017

A rabbi who was denied boarding on a flight to Israel because of her support for Palestinian rights says there is evidence Israel spied on the group she was traveling with.

Alissa Wise of Jewish Voice for Peace told The Electronic Intifada that “there’s no doubt that they were surveilling our email.”

Wise was one of five members of an interfaith delegation banned from flying to Israel on Monday for her support for BDS, the boycott, divestment and sanctions movement.

Along with leaders from American Muslims for Palestine and the Presbyterian Peace Fellowship, Wise was barred by Lufthansa staff from boarding a flight from Dulles International Airport near Washington, DC.

An airline employee told the group that the Israeli government had instructed them not to allow the five to board.

Israel has previously banned activists, accusing them of supporting BDS. But in March, Israel formalized the policy and began to implement it even more aggressively.

But the list of banned delegates that the Lufthansa staff read out to Wise is evidence of Israeli spying, she told The Electronic Intifada on Wednesday.

Five of the delegates were banned from entering, but the list read out by Lufthansa staff had two extra names – individuals who would not have been on the flight manifests.

Suspicious

Wise said that the sixth person had changed her plans because she had had to drop her daughter off at a Jewish summer camp. She flew out on a separate flight elsewhere, and was able to enter.

The seventh person was a Muslim delegate “who actually canceled coming back in March and we never issued her a ticket,” Wise said. “So it’s weird.”

Wise added that “there was no other way they could have had that name” other than spying on the emails of either Jewish Voice for Peace, American Muslims for Palestine or the Presbyterian Peace Fellowship.

“It’s very suspicious,” Wise said. “We never released the names of the delegates publicly anywhere.”
The bar on Jewish critics of Israeli policy from entering came as the Israeli parliament is moving to pass a new law that will allow it to conduct its war against the BDS movement in complete secrecy.
The strategic affairs ministry, headed by Gilad Erdan, has asked for its activities combating BDS to be exempted from Israel’s freedom of information laws.

The prospective law change seems to be a reaction to Israeli human rights activists’ attempts to shed light on Israel’s covert operations against BDS.

Last September, Israeli attorney Eitay Mack and several activists filed a freedom of information request with the strategic affairs ministry and the foreign ministry.

They asked the ministries to reveal their financial support to foreign organizations, individuals, journalists or bloggers assisting Israel in its battle against BDS and other forms of Palestine solidarity – what it calls “delegitimization.”

“Battlefront”

But in responses to the requests that came months later, the ministries denied any such relationships. However, Erdan has admitted that his ministry exercises influence through foreign entities.

Ma’an News Agency, a Palestinian outlet, reported last week that Erdan justified the proposed law by claiming that BDS was a “battlefront like any other.”

“One of the principles for success is keeping our methods of action secret,” Erdan said earlier this month. “Since most of the ministry’s actions are not of the ministry, but through bodies around the world who do not want to expose their connection with the state, we must protect the information whose exposure could harm the battle.”

According to an official press release, the law would add Erdan’s ministry to “the list of bodies whose activities are an exception to the Freedom of Information Law” – putting it in the same category as Israel’s Mossad and Shin Bet spying and assassination agencies.

The Tel Aviv newspaper Haaretz reported at the time the law was drafted in May that the ministry argued in official notes that “successful management of the campaign [against BDS] requires that it be kept under maximum ambiguity.”

“We want most of the ministry’s work to be classified,” the strategic affairs ministry’s director general told an Israeli parliamentary committee in September.

Sima Vaknin-Gil added, “There are many sensitivities, and I can’t even explain in an open forum why there are such sensitivities … a major part of what we do stays under the radar.”

Death threats and hacking

Vaknin-Gil told Israeli lawmakers she wanted to “build a community of warriors” – echoing similar commentsshe made to an anti-BDS conference in New York earlier the same year.

Since the strategic affairs ministry was given the lead on Israel’s war against BDS in October 2015, actions targeting the Palestine solidarity movement have grown more extreme.

Israel may be funding “infiltrators” to launch “provocations” against pro-Palestine student demonstrators in the UK, one pro-Israel journalist stated in January.

The covert campaign against human rights activists has escalated to the point of “black-ops,” veteran Israeli security correspondent Yossi Melman revealed last year.
Melman said these “special operations” include “defamation campaigns, harassment and threats to the lives of activists” as well as “infringing on and violating their privacy.”

Human rights defenders who investigate Israel’s violations of Palestinian rights have been targeted with smears, email hacking and death threats.

France-headquatered human rights federation FIDH reported this month that the well respected Palestinian rights monitors Al-Haq and Al Mezan had been the victim of email hacks.

In the context of Israeli black-ops, Melman noted death threats received by Nada Kiswanson, an Al-Haq attorney, who has been collecting evidence of Israeli war crimes in Gaza to submit to the International Criminal Court.


Authorities in the Netherlands, where the court is based, are investigating the threats.

German military helicopter crashes in Mali, two peacekeepers killed

FILE PHOTO: German Air Force Tiger attack helicopter by German Bundeswehr is pictured at the U.S. military base in Grafenwoehr, Germany, October 26, 2016.

JULY 26, 2017

BAMAKO (Reuters) - A German military helicopter assigned to the U.N. peacekeeping mission in Mali crashed in the West African nation's desert north on Wednesday, killing the two crew members, the German military said.

The Tiger helicopter crashed around midday about 70 km (45 miles) north of Gao, burning out completely with no survivors. The crash was reported by a second helicopter following in the mission.

"We have now certainty that two soldiers have given their lives in the service of our country," German Defence Minister Ursula von der Leyen told a news conference. The Germans were the first killed in combat since 2013 in Afghanistan, a military spokesman said.

Germany increased its commitment to the MINUSMA peacekeeping mission this year with the deployment of eight attack and transport helicopters and 350 additional soldiers to Mali where fighters with links to al Qaeda regularly target Malian soldiers and U.N. troops.

A German military officer in Berlin said there was no indication the helicopter had been downed by an attack.

"The reason for the crash is still completely open. There is no evidence at this point of any outside factors," Vice Admiral Joachim Ruehle, deputy inspector general of the armed forces, told reporters.

German military investigators will head to the scene on Thursday to search for the helicopter’s flight data recorder, he said.

FILE PHOTO: A German soldier from the UN contingent MINUSMA stands at Camp Castor in Gao, Mali April 5, 2016.Michael Kappeler/Pool/File Photo

All routine flights by other Tiger helicopters will be suspended indefinitely, he said, and only flights deemed necessary for "life and limb" will be conducted.

Germany now has around 1,000 troops serving in Mali as part of MINUSMA and a separate European Union mission.

Helicopters are seen as key to MINUSMA’s mission in northern Mali where they help monitor the position of armed groups that are officially signatories to a U.N.-led peace process.

A Dutch helicopter crashed in 2015 and there is speculation about whether extreme heat and dust contributed to accidents. The mission has struggled to replace seven Dutch helicopters that were withdrawn this year.

The crash comes at a politically sensitive time in Germany with just weeks to go to a national election in which Chancellor Angela Merkel is seeking a fourth term.

Merkel's Social Democratic challengers have raised questions about increasing military spending to reach a NATO target of 2 percent of economic output, and blocked plans for leasing an armed drone to support troops, for instance in Mali.

Four years after a French-led military intervention drove Islamist fighters from cities and towns they seized in 2012, northern Mali remains racked by violence, and attacks have made MINUSMA the world's deadliest U.N. peacekeeping mission.

Reporting by Yvonne Bell, Souleymane Ag Anara and Emma Farge,; and Andrea Shalal in Berlin; Writing by Richard Balmforth; Editing by Robin Pomeroy

The Iranian Cyberthreat Is Real

As Trump increasingly boxes in Tehran, U.S. allies should be worried about the potential for a devastating cyberattack from the Islamic Republic.

BY TREY HERR, LAURA K. BATE-JULY 26, 2017

There’s trouble in the Gulf, where a hijacked news website has helped kick off a blockade of Qatar. Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and their allies have cut off a fellow member of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), citing as justification fake news stories that the Emiratis themselves allegedly planted.

The conflict started when several statements attributed to Qatari Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani appeared on the Qatar News Agency’s website and the government’s official Twitter feed. The comments, which the Qataris quickly dismissed as the result of a hack, strayed from the Arab Gulf consensus on hot-button issues such as relations with Iran, Hamas, Hezbollah, and Israel. The Saudi-led bloc rejected that explanation and on June 5 severed diplomatic relations with Doha and also halted air, sea, and land transportation to the gas-rich state. Despite the mounting evidence that the offending news stories were contrived, the blockade has remained in place through extensive diplomatic intervention from abroad.

The confrontation, which threatens stability in a region critical to U.S. interests, is bad enough. But far more ominously, it shows how future crises can be sparked by cyberoperations to manipulate information. Operations of the kind used against France in 2015 and the United States during the 2016 presidential election take advantage of preexisting tensions to drive political change. In the case of the Gulf, these fake news stories exploited regional hostility and the Iranian boogeyman to push the region into conflict.

The recent hack didn’t occur in a vacuum; tensions among the Gulf Arab monarchies have been simmering for years. The Saudis, with support from Kuwait, Bahrain, and the UAE, have struggled for nearly half a decade to prop up the central government in Yemen against the Iranian-supported Houthi rebels. In Syria, many of the GCC states support Syrian rebel groups against the Islamic State, while Iran provides Bashar al-Assad’s government and groups like the Syrian Electronic Army with training and technicalassistance. In the eyes of their neighbors, the Qataris also maintain an uncomfortably close relationship with the Muslim Brotherhood, which they see as a movement that threatens established rulers across the region.

While internal GCC differences over Iran are a key driver of the current crisis, the next conflagration might be sparked by Tehran itself. The country has demonstrated growing maturity in offensive cybersecurity, conducts extensive espionage against its neighbors, and is actively engaged in harassing Israeli government websites with regular distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks. In a 2013 speech, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also claimed that Iran, together with Hezbollah, was carrying out “nonstop” attacks on Israeli industrial sites like water treatment facilities and power stations.

Iran’s capabilities have been strongly influenced by its own experience as the target of cyberoperations.

Iran’s capabilities have been strongly influenced by its own experience as the target of cyberoperations. In the years after Stuxnet, the U.S.-Israeli effort to stymie Iranian nuclear enrichment efforts, Tehran began making repeated efforts to gather information on industrial control systems in both countries. After a 2012attack on an Iranian oil facility by malware designed to wipe computer systems of data, Iran responded by conducting precisely the same sort of attack against the back-office computer systems of oil giant Saudi Aramcoand Qatari natural gas producer RasGas, which forced the replacement of tens of thousands of computers.

Iran is capable of causing a lot of havoc through cyberspace. Moving from web defacements and crude censorship in the early 2000s, through sophisticated internal information controls and sustained espionage campaigns, to complex multistage attacks today, Iran’s evolution in cybersecurity has been rapid. More recent Iranian operations have leveraged extensive reconnaissance of social media to successfully compromise American government organizations and critical infrastructure facilities. In 2016, the U.S. Justice Department unsealed an indictment against seven Iranian nationals accused of engaging in the costly digital harassment of American banks, one of whom was also charged with trying to hack intoupstate New York’s Bowman Avenue Dam.

All this means that the next hack in the Gulf might not simply exploit Iran’s reputation as a regional boogeyman — it might be launched by Iran itself. There are limits to our ability to assign attribution for incidents in cybersecurity, which suggests that future information operations may be able to operate under the cloak of relative anonymity — or at least plausible deniability.

This isn’t the last time information operations are going to roil the region. The Gulf states need to be better equipped to defend themselves against these sort of attacks, and the first step is investing in their domestic cybersecurity capabilities. Their best bet is to leave aside surveillance and censorship to develop the technical capacity to identify and mitigate weaknesses in their own networks.

The episode demonstrates how the Gulf is ripe for exploitation via information operations. Through a fairly low-risk compromise of the Qatar News Agency, an actor managed to fracture one of the primary political blocs arrayed against Iranian action in the region. The Gulf has more than its share of political rivalries and long-standing antipathies, and Iran’s status as a growing power in cyberspace means that these vulnerabilities only appear poised to worsen. The damage done so far was likely the result of internal political fragmentation in the Arab bloc — the potential fallout that could result from external interference is daunting.

Poland hits back at EU 'blackmail' over judicial reforms

EU says it will move to block Poland’s voting rights if it goes ahead with plans to let government fire supreme court judges

People protest against the reforms outside the supreme court in Warsaw on Tuesday. Photograph: Kacper Pempel/Reuters

Daniel Boffey in Brussels-Wednesday 26 July 2017

Poland’s ruling conservatives have hit back at EU threats to halt the country’s voting rights in the bloc if it pushes through controversial judicial reforms, saying they amount to “blackmail”.

The EU warned on Wednesday that it would immediately move to deploy its most serious sanction if Poland’s far-rightwing government gave itself the power to fire its supreme court judges.

Frans Timmermans, the first vice-president of the European commission, acknowledged that Poland’s president, Andrzej Duda, had this week stepped in to block two contentious reforms of the judiciary proposed by the ruling Law and Justice party (PiS).

The two laws would have forced the resignation of all supreme court justices and allowed their replacements to be selected by the justice minister, and would have would given government-appointed members of the National Council of the Judiciary – which selects judicial candidates – a power of veto.

Duda’s decision came after days of mass street protests around the country, an international outcry and Timmerman’s claim last Wednesday that the EU was on the brink of triggering the never-before-used “nuclear option” available to it in article 7 of the treaties, under which the Polish government could lose its voting rights in the bloc’s institutions.

While recognising that progress had been made, however, the commissioner claimed on Wednesday that Warsaw had not dropped its reform agenda, and reiterated that it was ready to act. “In this past week, some things have changed in Poland and some things have not,” he said.

“We extended our hand to the Polish authorities for dialogue immediately at redressing the situation and urged the Polish authorities to put the new laws on hold and reengage. That is not quite what has happened … The fact that two of the four laws have been signed, and that work will continue on the other two, means that we must set out clearly our concern.”

 Frans Timmermans. Photograph: Stephanie Lecocq/EPA

He added: “The commission’s recommendation asks the Polish authorities not to take any measure to dismiss or force the retirement of supreme court judges. If such a measure is taken the commission is ready to immediately trigger the article 7 procedure.”

The government spokesman Rafał Bochenek told the Polish news agency PAP that the EU threat amounted to “blackmail”.

“We won’t accept blackmail on the part of EU officials, especially blackmail that is not based on facts. All the laws prepared by the Polish parliament are in compliance with the constitution and democratic rules,” he said.

“We regret that Timmermans, who is unfamiliar with the draft laws and Poland’s legal regulations, has formulated unfair criticism against Poland.”

The European commission said it intended to launch legal proceedings over two of the laws that were passed this week, when they are published. The two laws signed by Duda give the justice minister the power to select the heads of the local courts, and allows greater government control over the country’s school of judiciary.

The EU will argue that the Polish government’s failure to give its people effective access to justice, by undermining the independence of the courts, breaks EU law. It will also say that forcing early retirement of lower court judges is discriminatory towards women, as the age thresholds are different for the sexes under the new laws. Both legal arguments have been deployed by the European commission before in the case of Hungary, and forced the country to rethink.

Timmermans said the commission was giving the Polish authorities one month from the day the lower courts law takes effect to resolve conflicts in the country’s judicial shakeup. He said that the commission could even trigger article 7 over that law, if the government failed to engage.

Konrad Szymański, Poland’s deputy foreign minister in charge of European affairs, claimed that the EU’s doubts over the intentions of his government were unjustified.

“During its deliberations, the European commission should take into greater consideration the fact that the organisation of the judiciary is an area of competence belonging to member states, which make their own decisions on the matter through their political and legislative process,” Szymański told PAP.

“Poland will of course respond to the European commission’s specific remarks in due course,” he added.

There is some confidence within the Polish government that the commission does not have the necessary support among the member states to take the most drastic action against it.

Four-fifths of the member states need to approve a formal warning about a breach of the rule of law under article 7.1 of the treaties. It would require unanimity to suspend Poland’s voting rights and the Hungarian prime minister, Viktor Orbán, has vowed to protect Warsaw from such a move.