Leader of Lebanon’s Hezbollah warns group is ready for war with Israel

Hezbollah leader Hasan Nasrallah speaks via video link to supporters on Jan. 30. (Bilal Hussein/AP)

By Hugh Naylor and Suzan Haidamous January 30 at 5:06 PM

BEIRUT — The leader of Hezbollah warned Israel on Friday that the Shiite movement was unafraid of war, just days after intense clashes in the border zone raised fears that a major conflict could erupt.
Leader of Lebanon’s Hezbollah Warns Group is Ready for War With Israel by Thavam Ratna

Ukraine peace talks collapse, Kiev and separatists trade blame

1 OF 9. Ukrainian politician Viktor Medvedchuk (R) arrives to take part in peace talks in Minsk January 31, 2015. 

BY ANDREI MAKHOVSKY AND RICHARD BALMFORTH-Sat Jan 31, 2015

(Reuters) - Peace talks on Ukraine collapsed on Saturday after just over four hours with no tangible progress towards a new ceasefire but with Ukraine's representative and separatist envoys angrily accusing each other of sabotaging the meeting.

Ukraine's representative, former president Leonid Kuchma, left the talks in Minsk, Belarus, telling Interfax news agency that separatist officials had undermined the meeting by making ultimatums and refusing "to discuss a plan of measures for a quick ceasefire and a pull-back of heavy weapons".

Denis Pushilin, one of the separatist officials, told the Russian news agency RIA that they were ready for dialogue "but not ready for ultimatums from Kiev while shelling by their forces is going on in the background of towns in the Donbass (industrialised eastern Ukraine)".

The meeting of the "contact group", which also involves a Russian envoy and an official from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, took place in the Belarussian capital even as fighting between Kiev's forces and the Russian-backed rebels raged on in Ukraine's east, claiming more civilian and military lives.

The outcome dashed hopes that a new ceasefire could be put together soon to stem nine months of conflict pitting Ukrainian government forces against Russian-backed separatists who have declared "people's republics" in eastern Ukraine.

Shortly before the Minsk talks broke up, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President Francois Hollande and Russia's Vladimir Putin in a three-way phone call had expressed the hope the meeting would at least produce a ceasefire agreement.

More than 5,000 people have died since the conflict erupted last April following Russia's annexation of Crimea in response to the ousting of a Moscow-backed president in Kiev by street protests.

The conflict has produced the gravest crisis between Russia and the West since the Cold War with the United States and the European Union imposing sanctions on Moscow because of what they say is incontrovertible proof that it is providing arms and men in support of the separatists. Moscow denies this is so.

Kuchma also reproached the two main separatist leaders in eastern Ukraine, who signed key agreements in Minsk last September, for failing to attend Saturday's follow-up meeting of the "contact group".

He said Kiev remained adamant that it wanted the separatists to honour agreements made in Minsk last September for a ceasefire as part of a 12-point blueprint for peace. Much-violated from the start, that truce collapsed completely with a new rebel advance last week.

Interfax quoted him as saying he awaited to hear Russia's reaction to the outcome soon.

WIDESPREAD VIOLENCE

The September Minsk peace plan also called for tighter control of the joint Russia-Ukraine border, through which Kiev says Moscow is funnelling fighters and equipment, and the freeing of prisoners held by the sides.

Much has changed on the ground, however, since September.

The separatists have set up self-proclaimed "people's republics", while their forces, which Kiev says are supported by 9,000 Russian regular troops, have seized more than 500 square km (190 square miles) of territory beyond that agreed in the Minsk talks and threaten to seize control of the east's two main regions entirely.

Both sides have accused each other of deadly artillery and mortar strikes on civilian targets in the past two weeks, including on a cultural centre in the main regional city of Donetsk on Friday that killed at least five people waiting for humanitarian hand-outs.

Heavy shelling continued on Saturday in Ukraine's eastern regions as the separatists sought to tighten a circle around government forces clinging on to control of the strategic rail and road junction of Debaltseve.

Regional police chief Vyacheslav Abroskin, in a Facebook post, said 12 civilians had been killed on Saturday by separatist artillery shelling of the town, which lies to the northeast of Donetsk.

Defence Minister Stepan Poltorak said 15 Ukrainian soldiers had been killed and 30 wounded in clashes across the east.

Debaltseve is on the main highway linking Donetsk and the other big rebel-controlled city of Luhansk and is also a vital rail link for goods traffic from Russia which Kiev accuses of arming the rebels.

The rebels were also continuing to threaten Mariupol, a town of half a million in the southeast of the country on the coast of Sea of Azov, military spokesman Andriy Lysenko said.

(Additional reporting by Natalia Zinets in Kiev and Paul Carrel in Berlin; Editing by Alison Williams)

Thousands join left-wing Podemos rally in Spain

SATURDAY 31 JANUARY 2015

Tens of thousands of protesters march through the streets of Madrid in a show of strength by Spain's fledgling radical leftist party Podemos, which hopes to emulate Syriza's rise to power in Greece.

Supporters from across Spain converged on Madrid to show support for leftist party Podemos which hopes to shatter the two-party system.

The "March for Change" drew tens of thousands of people in the same place where sit-in protestsagainst political and financial corruption laid the party's foundations in 2011.

The fledgling party hopes to emulate the success of Greece's Syriza party in elections later this year.

The meteoric rise of Podemos is attributed in large part to its leader, Pablo Iglesias (pictured above) - a pony-tailed 36-year-old political science professor who has won followers with his determined arguments, which have so far been light on detail.

Chinese journalists beaten for exposing ‘salamander banquet’

Pic: AP.

By Michele Penna Jan 30, 2015

There are times when a detail can tell a whole story, and the death of a giant amphibious animal in Guangdong is one such case. It all began on Monday, when the Southern Metropolis Daily, a local Chinese newspaper, published the story of how three of its journalists were beaten by police after they caught officials banqueting on a giant salamander.

The paper says it was tipped off that a group of local officials was about to dine on the endangered amphibian, a specialty in Cantonese cuisine, in a restaurant in Guandong on January 21 and sent two reporters and one photographer to investigate. Once they arrived at the restaurant, the three journalists managed to snoop on 28 diners, including police officials. Their identity was soon discovered and they were beaten, the photographer’s camera was smashed and their phones taken.

The story is so unusual it has left readers flabbergasted – one of the officials involved even said, in a rather mafia-like style: “In my territory, it is my treat.” But it also works as a pocket-sized compendium of some of the issues faced by contemporary China, beginning with the main course on the menu: the giant salamander – known to specialists as andrias davidianus – is the largest amphibious animal on the planet, and is highly endangered.

According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the giant salamander “was once reasonably common but has declined catastrophically over the last 30 years, principally due to over-exploitation, and it is now very rare, with few surviving populations known.” In China, says the  IUCN, the species is included among the Class II major protected wildlife species.

At a moment when many Chinese citizens are becoming increasingly sensitive dwindling wildlife and authorities are trying to somehow protect the environment, the news comes as a powerful reminder that old ways die hard.

The banquet, which reportedly cost $1,000, also flies in the face of a recent crackdown on extravagance by the Chinese government. In the very first months of his presidency Xi Jinping intervened to curb excessive spending by public servants: parties, lavish gifts, gargantuan banquets and pretty much all that used to be common among officials quickly became problematic.

The public reacted positively to the campaign, but the crackdown went so far that it had an impact on the economy, according to Chinese media. In August 2014 shark fins prices – shark fins being an expensive treat usually regarded as a luxury – declined by almost 50 percent as compared to the same period in 2013, while sales were down by 80 percent in Guangzhou’s market.

In an interview with Bloomberg, Shen Jianguang, chief Asia economist at Mizuho Securities Asia Ltd. in Hong Kong, argued that “the anti-corruption action by Xi is creating unprecedented phenomena, including an absolute fall in high-end restaurant sales.”

Finally, another important part of the story is the role played by Chinese media, who exposed local officials and won their battle: the trio of journalists was attacked, sure, but they were eventually able to publish and were protected by authorities, who turned against the police forces. So far 14 policemen have been suspended and on Tuesday a police chief in Shenzhen was put under investigation. This time around, scribes and salamanders alike have been avenged.

‘Hold perpetrators to account for their actions’ in Sri Lanka says British PM

30 January 2015

British Prime Minister David Cameron reiterated his call for Sri Lanka’s new government to address matters of international concern and hold perpetrators of abuses of international law to account for their actions.

Wishing the All Party Parliamentary Group for Tamils his best wishes at their annual dinner on Thursday evening, the British prime minister said that he has “long believed that establishing the truth is a crucial step to help families understand what happened to their loved ones, and help heal the scars of war.”

Stating that he was “incredibly proud of the instrumental role [Britain] played in delivering the March 2014 UN Human Rights Council resolution that mandated” an international investigation into mass atrocities, Mr Cameron added that there was still more to be done in Sri Lanka.

“The OISL investigation in itself is not reconciliation or accountability,” said Mr Cameron. “It is important that the report is considered by the new Sri Lankan Government as they seek to reconcile and hold perpetrators to account for their actions.”Welcoming Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena’s commitment to end Sri Lanka’s international isolation, Mr Cameron further added that he hopes “the new government will now work alongside the international community, including at the UN Human Rights Council, to address matters of international concern.”

The British prime minister also noted Mr Sirisena’s commitment to devolve power to Tamil regions of the island under the 13th Amendement, stating the government was taking “promising early steps”.

“I will continue to watch progress closely,” he added.

See the full text of his statement below.

The election of Maithripala Sirisena as the 7th President of Sri Lanka presents a renewed opportunity for Sri Lanka to realise its potential as a stable, prosperous and inclusive country, where all Sri Lankans can play a role. 

The successful conduct of the elections earlier this month, the high voter turnout and the peaceful transfer of power is a great credit to the people of Sri Lanka and Sri Lanka’s democratic traditions. What now follows is a new chapter in Sri Lanka’s history. 

I welcome President Sirisena’s early commitment to lead a more democratic and accountable government, including by restoring the independence of the police and judiciary, ensuring electoral reforms, protecting the rights of religious minorities, and guaranteeing media freedoms. The new government’s commitments to Parliament are also promising for Tamil communities in the North, including a commitment to devolve powers under the 13th Amendment of Sri Lanka’s constitution. I have also noted the replacement of the military governor in the North with a civilian, and welcome the appointment of a Tamil minister for Resettlement and Reconstruction, together with the new government’s early engagement with Tamil political parties. These are promising early steps and I will continue to watch progress closely. 

In my statement following President Sirisena’s election, I called on the new Sri Lankan Government to support the ongoing UN Office of the High Commission for Human Rights’ investigation on Sri Lanka (OISL) into alleged violations and abuses of international law by both sides of the conflict. I committed to seek an international investigation during my visit in November 2013, and I am incredibly proud of the instrumental role we played in delivering the March 2014 UN Human Rights Council resolution that mandated this. I have long believed that establishing the truth is a crucial step to help families understand what happened to their loved ones, and help heal the scars of war. However, the OISL investigation in itself is not reconciliation or accountability. It is important that the report is considered by the new Sri Lankan Government as they seek to reconcile and hold perpetrators to account for their actions 

I welcome the new President’s commitment to end Sri Lanka’s international isolation and therefore hope the new government will now work alongside the international community, including at the UN Human Rights Council, to address matters of international concern in order to build Sri Lanka into a peaceful and prosperous nation for all its people. To this end, I am pleased that Hugo Swire, Foreign and Commonwealth Minister of State, will visit Sri Lanka this week to discuss these important issues and offer the UK’s support for reform.
Please accept my best wishes for the Annual Dinner of the All Party Parliamentary Group. I pay tribute to your work and engagement in these important issues, and I hope you have an enjoyable evening. 

The Future State Of The Nation: A Response To Dayan

By R.M.B Senanayake -January 30, 2015

R.M.B Senanayake

I refer to the article by Dr Dayan Jayatilleka under the caption “Pre-Independence Day Thoughts 2015: The Future State Of The Nation” where he discusses the sentiments expressed by TNA politician Mr. Sumanthiran that the “full implementation of the 13th Amendment is no lasting solution.” He extrapolates from such sentiments to surmise that the removal of the roadblocks to the full implementation of the 13th Amendment is not enough for the TNA MP and that “they would not try their very best to make the 13th Amendment work. Because if it did they would not be able to prove their dogmatic politically fundamentalist position that “the full implementation of the 13th Amendment is no lasting solution. This of course is DJ’s surmise and it cannot be ascribed to Mr. Sumanthiran.

DJ asks what would be the final solution of Mr. Sumanthiran and the TNA. Call it federal or quasi federal but these are mere academic classifications. Constitutions are the work of negotiations between parties and they do not go on rigid academic classifications. Academics describe them after they are established.

DJ asks what would be the final solution of Mr. Sumanthiran and the TNA. He is hung up on the issue of the unitary versus federal status- a distinction used by political scientists to describe widely varying arrangements for the devolution of power. India is supposed to be a quasi-federal State for example. The crux of the issue is that in general political parlance the division of powers between the Center and the periphery cannot be altered unilaterally in a federal state but can be so altered in a unitary state where the Center is superior and it is the Center that devolves the power and a future government is not bound by the division of powers that prevails and could unilaterally change it. Where does this leave the Tamil people? Naturally the Tamil MPs and the Tamil people do not want such a situation for a Sinhala nationalist party coming to power in the future could unilaterally alter the division of powers to undermine the devolution fully or partially. So the Tamil people keep on asking for a federal state in order to safeguard the existing division of powers. My understanding is that the Tamils want this essential feature because they fear the election of nationalist political parties gaining power and changing the allocation of powers between the Center and the Provincial Council. Call it federal or quasi federal but these are mere academic classifications. Constitutions are the work of negotiations between parties and they do not go on rigid academic classifications. Academics describe them after they are established.Read More

2014 Scholarship Exam cut-off marks released

The Department of Examinations today released the cut-off marks of the 2014 Grade 5 Scholarship Examination.

January 30, 2015 
The Department of Examinations today released the cut-off marks of the 2014 Grade 5 Scholarship Examination.

See below for full list of cut-off marks...

GRADE FIVE SCHOLARSHIP SELECTION LIST - 2014 (SINHALA MEDIUM – Boys Schools)

PARTICULARS OF CUT-OFF MARKS

2014 Scholarship Exam Cut-Off Marks Released by Thavam Ratna

Sri Lanka says military 'sabotaging' post-war reconciliation

The government says it is investigating allegations that two senior military officers are training 400 troops to provoke unrest in Jaffna

30 January 2015

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka – Sri Lanka's new government on Thursday, January 29, accused the military of trying to sow unrest to sabotage its efforts to bring about ethnic reconciliation in the war-ravaged north of the country.

Sri Lanka has promised to give greater autonomy to the mainly Tamil northern peninsula, which was worst hit by the decades-long civil war, and remained heavily militarized under the former administration.

The government said it was investigating allegations that two senior military officers were training 400 troops to provoke unrest in Jaffna, capital of the northern province.

"We have information that saboteurs are being trained in small batches of 10 at a time and they are being deployed in Jaffna," said government spokesman Rajitha Senaratne.

Senaratne said the men had been ordered to carry out small-scale incidents across the former conflict zone to give the impression that the new government had no control.

Sri Lanka's new President Maithripala Sirisena has moved quickly to reduce the role of the military in Jaffna since he was elected on January 8, sacking the retired army general who ran the province and replacing him with a former diplomat.

The country's Tamil minority voted in large numbers for Sirisena, whose predecessor Mahinda Rajapakse oversaw the brutal military crushing of a Tamil separatist insurgency.

Rajapakse's regime won popularity for ending the 37-year conflict, but he was blamed for failing to ensure ethnic reconciliation between the Tamils and the island's Sinhalese majority.

Senaratne, who is also health minister in the new government, said senior military officers had been in contact with the former president's brother, ex-defense secretary Gotabhaya Rajapakse, about the alleged bid to destabilize Jaffna.

He also said the new government would return land taken from Tamil residents in Jaffna for commercial exploitation by the military.

He said there was no justification for the military to retain seized land in the area, where it has established hotels, restaurants and farms.

An army spokesman said the complaint had been brought to the attention of military chief Daya Ratnayake, but declined to comment on the allegation.

The United Nations estimates that at least 100,000 people were killed in Sri Lanka's Tamil separatist conflict between 1972 and 2009.

Senaratne said the government was working on releasing some 275 Tamil prisoners who have been held in custody for long periods without any charges brought against them.

The authorities are already investigating claims that Rajapakse tried to use military force to remain in power as election results showed he was headed for defeat.

Police have questioned several people, including the then chief justice Mohan Peiris, who was removed from his post on Wednesday.

The government has already committed to granting limited autonomy to Tamils in line with a 1987 law that has never been fully implemented. – Rappler.com

International war crimes investigation is the only first step says UK opposition leader

30 January 2015

The leader of the UK Labour Party Ed Miliband repeated his call for an independent international investigation into mass atrocities, stating it would be the first step towards satisfying Tamil grievances around the world. In a video message to the All Party Parliamentary Group for Tamils annual dinner, Mr Milband called on Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena to “fully cooperate with the ongoing investigation” being carried out by the UN Office of the High Commission for Human Rights. “I am very clear,” said the UK opposition leader. “Only a full and transparent independent international investigation into allegations of war crimes can be the first step towards satisfying and allaying the deep hurt and grievances of Tamils in Britain and around the world.” Mr Miliband pledged that a full international investigation “is the Labour Party’s position, that will remain our position in opposition and into Government and that is the investigation that we want to see happen.” The Labour Party leader also celebrated the contribution that Tamils have made to Britain, saying “across every walk of life from the arts to business to the economy you make an extraordinary contribution.” “I am proud of the contribution that British Tamils make to our country,” said Mr Miliband. “I look forward to that relationship going from strength to strength in the years ahead.”

Some Notes On Regime Change And Power Sharing

By Imtiyaz Razak –January 25, 2015

Dr. Imtiyaz Razak

Recent regime change in Colombo, Sri Lanka did not take place in vacuum. There was international support and networks to depose the former regime led by Mr. Rajapaksa who provided political leadership to defeat the Tamil Tigers and local political actors contributed to the scheme planned by powerful actors.

One of the key developments with regard to deposing the regime apparently staged in Singapore. As TamilNet correctly pointed, there was agenda and that was coined as the 10 points formula. “The 10-points agreed between theSampanthan polity and the regime changers including the new SL Foreign Minister, Mangala Samaraweera, at Singapore in 2013 follow:

Singapore Principles

1. In describing the nature of the State what is important is the substance; the labels are secondary.
2. The Constitution shall be based on basic constitutional principles and values including sovereignty of the people, participatory democracy and supremacy of the Constitution which shall form an unalterable basic structure.
3. Power sharing shall be on the basis of self-rule and shared-rule within an undivided Sri Lanka.
4. The Executive Presidency shall be abolished and the form of government shall be Parliamentary.
5. The pluralist character of Sri Lankan society as well as identities and aspirations of the constituent peoples of Sri Lanka shall be constitutionally recognised.
6. There shall be a strong and enforceable Bill of Rights consistent with universally accepted norms and standards.
7. There shall be a separation of powers and an independence of judiciary which includes a Constitutional Court.
8. Important institutions shall be independent and accountable. Appointments to these and High Posts shall be through a transparent mechanism that provides for a national consensus, example Constitutional Council.
9. Institutions of the State shall reflect the pluralist character of Sri Lankan society.
10. The Republic of Sri Lanka shall be a secular state. The Foremost place to Buddhism and equal status to other religions shall be assured.

Sri Lanka needs seek better ways to arrest the ethnic tensions. There need to better mechanism to arrest the fears people of Sri Lanka have been harboring for years. This is the toughest task, but if there are sincere interests at elite level, better ways can be found to ease tensions and to seek solutions. I am by and large in agreement with the 10 points provided the new regime would take measures to safeguard the interests and security of Muslims of the North and East in particular and Muslims in general in the troubled island.

The problem now among nationalists Tamil circle is rather interesting as expected. Tamil nationalists want to win a solution that would go beyond the 13th Amendment , and want the merger of the North and East plus de-militarization of Northern Sri Lanka. These measures, specially the merger of the North and East and de-militarization of Northern Sri Lanka very likely compromise the security of the Muslims. Hence, it is the responsibility of Muslim politicians to negotiate power actors to seek better solutions for Muslims while not compromising the security of others. The Muslims of Northern and Eastern already have spilled enough blood. So, when and if there is a forum to seek solutions to what’s dubbed as ethnic crisis , the special problems of the Muslims require political solutions as the Tami grievances deserve.it is the responsibility of the Sri Lanka government to search for a solution conducive to all communities. Such a solution as I argued elsewhere, can be found based on consociationalism, which proportionally allocates political power among the communities – whether religious or ethnic – according to the percentage of their population.

*A.R.M. Imtiyaz is currently teaches at the Asian Studies Center, Temple University, USA. His primary research interest is in the study of ethnic conflict, both in Sri Lanka and in other countries. His articles have been published in several journals and presented at the international conferences on ethnicity. He served as a lecturer in Political Science at the South Eastern University of Sri Lanka.