A Fifty of a Hundred Days to Few, or too Many?

by Dr. Paikiasothy Saravanamuttu 

- on 03/05/2015 

A former British Prime Minister Harold Wilson made the oft- quoted remark that a week is a long time in politics. What then of fifty days, not to mention a hundred?

A Fifty of a Hundred Days to Few, Or Too Many by Thavam Ratna

The Mahinda Factor is just a factor

The Mahinda Factor is just a factor

Fragments.

By Uditha Devapriya-Tuesday, March 5, 2015

Sri Lanka has almost never voted for people. Neither has it voted for parties. It has voted for people and parties. Strange, yes, but true. People-factors are taken into account, and so are party-factors. But voters rarely acknowledge one of them in isolation. People are elected on the basis of their parties and parties are elected on the basis of their members. That’s the truth, that has been the truth, and I suspect that that will be the truth. For a long time.
We’re seeing a “phenomenon” today. I don’t think this phenomenon is enough to break into either of the two main parties in the country. To put it simply, Mahinda Rajapaksa has a base, yes. But you can’t translate this into a “third force”. It’s not possible. No former president (or prime minister) could do that here. Rajapaksa won’t be any different. He can’t cut into either major party. Period.
Still, his base shouldn’t be forgotten. For one thing, he has a stronghold in the South. It is true he won it marginally this time, barring those electorates he won by a massive margin. The SLFP and UPFA, let’s not forget, couldn’t come up with a proper successor to the man. Part of the reason why they went against him was because he was (unduly) using his party to boost his family, a point highlighted by many grassroots SLFP’ers who (to put it colloquially) were “fed up” with him. Doesn’t and shouldn’t mean he should be cast out. Not yet.
The man should not be absolved. He committed and sanctioned abuse. Like all politicians, however, he knows charisma and political mileage. He knows how to distill action from words, but the problem with his last few years was that he relied more on words and less on act. Winning wars are alright, indeed commendable. But Winston Churchill did not create a quasi-dictatorship (or, as President Maithripala Sirisena put it on November 21 2014, a “benevolent dictatorship”). He was elected out. We remember postwar Britain not for Churchill’s Old Conservatism but for Attlee’s New Socialism. It’s that simple.
And yet, the war remains Rajapaksa’s biggest trump-card. Even now. It is heartening to see that he doesn’t spew nationalist rhetoric based on that today, although I am deeply disturbed by how he and his cohort “remind” us that they won the election except for the North and East. Defeat must be conceded. Harping about how one part of the country made you lose isn’t going to help. Next thing you know, his cohort will be claiming that the country must be divided to ensure his victory! Yes, it’s that ironic. Ironic because Rajapaksa claims to be the one who unified this country and got rid of terrorism.
The biggest tragedy, however, is that the SLFP is looking at all this like a shell-shocked person. It doesn’t know what to do and isn’t sure where it’s going. Maithripala Sirisena is President, yes, but he acts more like a figurehead with Ranil Wickremesinghe calling the shots. Not surprising there, but the man must assert himself. Going by Wickremesinghe’s recent remarks (including his “threat” to certain Sinhala language newspapers allegedly whipping up racism), it would be better for President Sirisena to make himself known, without talking so much about his predecessor’s abuses and how his regime is far better in comparison. Let’s not forget that even Rajapaksa was humble enough not to badmouth Chandrika Kumaratunga. I am, of course, talking about his first few years in power after he succeeded her: his and his party-faction’s take on the lady during this year’s campaign was nothing but despicable.
Bottom line, hence: Rajapaksa wants to come back. My point is that he can’t make a comeback. There are grievances he must address and apologise for. There are concerns he must take note of should he decide to stage a return. And most of all, there are problems with the electoral system and Constitution that he must acknowledge. Without doing any of this, I find it hard to believe that he will or he can return. The Mahinda Factor, therefore, will be just a factor, to be taken in or thrown out at the whims of those in power.
Rajapaksa was probably laughing behind the cameras after he said, “I did not engage in vindictive politics while in power”. More statements like that and his opponents can most certainly win against him. But then again, his own party doesn’t seem to know what to do with him. Sad and tragic, yes. Ironic, certainly.
Uditha Devapriya is a freelance writer who can be reached at udakdev1@gmail.com

MS and RW should take a leaf from Mahela and Sanga

 March 6, 2015 

With cricket’s World Cup in full swing Down Under and Sri Lanka’s winning streak emerging after a tentative start, it would be a great opportunity for our present political leadership to reflect and take a leaf from our cricketers, especially from the two unmistakable veterans, Mahela and Sanga. In them is a good example for the nation, the political leadership and members of corporate Sri Lanka.

MS and RW Should Take a Leaf From Mahela and Sanga by Thavam Ratna

Sri Lanka’s Unfinished Humanitarian Business

dpuSri Lanka's newly elected President Maithripala Sirisena arrives for his swearing-in ceremony on January 9. REUTERS/Stringer 

By Jeff Crisp-March 04, 2015
Prior to Sri Lanka’s January 2015 election, it was impossible to turn on the television, look at a newspaper or walk down the street without being bombarded with images of President Mahinda Rajapaksa and his two brothers, Basil and Gothabaya, who between them dominated many of the key Cabinet positions. But the face of Sri Lanka has changed.

Despite their domination of the media and increasingly authoritarian control of Sri Lanka’s public and political life, the Rajapaksas failed to win the electorate’s support, and were also unable to prompt the intervention of the military once it became clear that the vote was going against them. Instead, voters opted for a new government, led by President Maithripala Sirisena and his opposition coalition.

As suggested in a recent report in the New York Times, the peaceful installation of a new and democratically elected administration led to “a palpable sense of relief” in Sri Lanka. “Among the happiest are diplomats and representatives of Western nations with whom the Rajapaksa administration had become combative,” the article concludes.

But serious questions remain about Sri Lanka’s future. While President Sirisena promises to bring substantive changes to the country’s administration, the fact remains that he was a central figure in the Rajapaksa government regime until as late as November 2014. Now that he has been elected, Sirisena is confronted with some unfinished humanitarian and human rights business which will act as a serious test of his government’s commitment to reform.

First, the new administration must address the problem of internal displacement in Sri Lanka. Between 1983 and 2009, the Sri Lankan military, dominated by the country’s Sinhalese and Buddhist majority, fought a bitter war with the Tamil Tigers, an armed separatist group that battled to establish an autonomous state in the north and east of the country for the country’s Tamil minority.

When that insurgency was eventually crushed in a blitzkrieg by the armed forces, thousands of people were killed and a much larger number - perhaps half a million in total - were displaced. Most of them were herded into overcrowded internment camps, where they were held for many months in appalling conditions.

While those in internment camps were eventually released, little is known about their current situation and many questions remain. To what extent have they been able to enjoy freedom of movement, to return to their places of origin, and to reclaim the land and property that they were forced to abandon? Have they been able to re-establish their livelihoods and benefit from national and international support in reconstructing the areas most seriously affected by the country’s longstanding armed conflict? How have the internally displaced coped with the trauma generated by the final months of the conflict?

With the election of the Sirisina government, it is hoped that new efforts will be made to examine and address the situation of Sri Lanka’s internally displaced people, including members of the Muslim and Sinhalese communities who were uprooted by earlier outbreaks of political and communal violence.

Second, Sri Lanka must deal with the issues of detention and disappearances. Tens of thousands of people went missing during the conflict that came to an end on 2009. Many of those people are assumed to have been killed, while others are still imprisoned.

Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe has acknowledged that the number of political prisoners remains unclear, and Tamil leaders have expressed growing frustration over the delays that have taken place in identifying and releasing the detainees. According to Foreign Minister Mangala Samaweera, “nobody seems to know who they are, even those who ought to know.”

Third, Sri Lanka’s new government must act on both local and international demands for a full enquiry into the conduct of the military campaign that put an end to the Tamil quest for autonomy. Were crimes against humanity committed, and if so, will the perpetrators of those atrocities ever be held accountable for of their actions?

United Nations efforts to establish such an enquiry were strongly rebuffed by the Rajapaksa regime, which engineered a parliamentary vote that committed the country to a policy of non-cooperation with the UN initiative. Another important test of the new administration will be its willingness to reverse this decision or to establish an alternative enquiry, as President Sirisena has suggested it might do.

The new government drew extensive electoral support from Sri Lanka’s Tamil, Muslim and Christian minorities. To its credit, it has dropped the triumphalist language employed by its predecessor, which made great play of its military victory over the Tigers but said little or nothing about the need for justice and reconciliation in post-conflict Sri Lanka. Only by addressing these issues will the government and its international supporters be able to bring about a lasting and inclusive peace.f

Why not arrested Dr. Maheshi Wijerathna ? : Was it Duminda Silva's power ?

(Lanka-e-News -05.March.2015, 11.45PM) Ms. Rhonda De Ley (“Ms. De Ley”) was attacked by a person who was later identified to be Dr. Maheshi Wijeratne (“Dr. Wijeratne). The attack took place inside the Main Ball Room of the Galadari Hotel in Colombo at or around 10.15pm on 28th February 2015. The incident occurred at the “Zonta” charitable fund raiser. Dr. Wijeratne smashed a wine glass on the left temple of Ms. De Ley and then slashed Ms. De Ley’s arms with the broken glass. The cut injury on Ms. De Ley’s right arm required several stitches. Ms. De Ley was hospitalized at the Asiri Central Hospital soon after the attack where she was discharged the following day. Immediately upon being discharged, Ms. De Ley made the captioned complaint to the Fort Police. Complaint no is WCIB/16/06. Two other witnesses also made statements corroborating Ms. De Ley’s complaint. Several names of other eye witnesses were also provided.  Despite such corroborating evidence of the grievous hurt suffered by Ms. De Ley at the hands of Ms. Wijeratne we are all dismayed that the Police have not arrested Dr. Wijeratne and produced her before Court as should have been done in the ordinary course. In such circumstances there is cause to apprehend that the police are dragging their feet due to  external pressures from parties known to be associated with Dr. Wijeratne. Dr. Wijeratne is in the lime light for inter alia allegedly issuing a false medical certificate to UPFA MP Duminda Silva in relation to the murder of fellow MP Baratha Lakshman Premachandra. 

Rhonda De Ley has written about this incident in her Face Book on yesterday (04) as follows 

Dear friends,

Given the many accounts I have seen published (all with varying degrees of accuracy) in print as well as on the web, I hereby share with you first hand the horrendous course of events that transpired on Saturday, 28th Feb at around 10.15 pm. I had made plans to attend the Zonta event, held at The Galadari Hotel, along with some of my colleagues. The evening got off on a good note, having met many friends, catching up with quite a few I hadn’t met in a while. At around the given time, whilst returning to my table from the dance flow, I noticed a lady rather animated, seemingly arguing with my associate Damith Vitharanage. No sooner I inquired as to what the issue was, the lady inexplicably imploded, dealing me a severe blow on the head with the wine glass that she was in possession of.

The next I remember, I was at Central Hospital. Wounds on my head, shoulder, and countless stitches on my arm, displaying the venomous intent of the assailant, who I now learn to be the famous, or should I say infamous Dr. Maheshi. I do not know this person. Prior to this incident, I had never seen her, nor conversed with her in any capacity. Why was I at the receiving end of such malicious intent? It now transpires that earlier that evening, my colleague Damith had told her not to park her vehicle in a manner which obstructed the rest of the vehicles (which it did). Hence her outburst.

I have rendered my account to the Fort Police, as have witnesses who were present. I am hopeful that justice will take its course. What I want more than ever is to make a speedy recovery from my injuries and return to my duties and carry on with my life. I sincerely hope the powers that be will ensure the rights of the citizen, in our great land is protected at all costs.

I thank you all for the many calls and texts wishing me well from around the world. Hope this will all be over soon.

---------------------------
by     (2015-03-05 19:01:24)

Gen. Fonseka’s Dream runs into trouble

( March 5, 2015, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) The promotion of Gen. Sarath Fonseka, leader of the Democratic Party, to the rank of field marshal on March 22 has run into trouble following a request by him to absorb him into active service of the Army, say defence ministry sources.

Several leading figures in the government have objected to Fonseka being thus given the opportunity to give orders to the Army.

It is appropriate to give him the ranking in recognition of his commitment to defeat the LTTE, but it should be a nominal one only, they have proposed to the president.

The president is yet to take a decision on this matter, but has advised Fonseka to prepare his uniform and stars and stripes to suit the field marshal position.

Meanwhile, Fonseka’s appointment of several officers loyal to him to top positions in the Army has been reversed.

On the orders of the president and the prime minister, the new Army commander has annulled those postings.

Biggest Sri Lanka Rupee Bond Fraud

[Arjuna Mahendran accepting letter of appointment from President Maithripala Sirisena]
05/03/2015

The entire business community was shocked with the blatant abuse of power of the Central Bank Governor Arjuna Mahendren to help his infamous son in law Arjun Aloysius, known for his infamous EPF deals with the previous government, resulting in the fund losing over 2 billion Rupees. To date the government has not investigated a single transaction and it will never happen under the current regime. To add to all this the Central bank recently announced its 30 year bond and according to Central Bank expectations the rates were expected to be in the range of 9.5%. However, the rate went up to 12.5% on a directive of the new Governor Mahendran. His son in law however new about this well in advance and cashed in raking in a big profit.

The main bidder his son in law who bid at 12.5% obviously had inside information and as a result gained high profits where as the banks and the other financial institutions who made their bids according to the public information given by Central Bank lost out to the company owned by Mr. Mahemdren’s son in law.

Also, during the last week several 5-10 year bonds at low rates were sold by CB Governors’ Son in law Arjuna’s company and reinvested in the 30 year bond , because he had inside information from the Central Bank that the rates would go up to 12.5%.

CB governor’s son in law were involved in the previous regime’s EPF dealings amounting to Billions as well, no action has been taken so far against his company Perpetual ltd. Now he has taken it to another level because he has the support of his Governor Father in law and the Prime Minister whom he refers to Uncle Ranil in conversations.

God save mother Lanka , we have jumped from one frying pan to a bigger frying pan.

Good Governance Activist
– LNW

The Sunday Times reports

Interest rate furore over Central Bank bond issue

A major furore has broken out in Colombo’s money markets after a ‘favoured’ primary dealer with high connections was seen singularly benefitting from a Central Bank (CB) bond issue at what dealers said was an ‘unbelievably’ high interest rate.

The issue came to a head on Friday when bids closed for the CB’s 30-year bond of Rs.1 billion which was oversubscribed by 20 times, prompting the market to suspect whether there was insider trading or ‘inside knowledge’ that this dealer had on the rate the CB would accept the bids.

“Rather than accept the lowest bids, the CB accepted a range from 9 + per cent to the highest bid of around 12.5 per cent,” a dealer said, adding that this particular primary dealer was said to be the only one to submit a bid at 12 +per cent and that too for a quantity of Rs. 3 billion. The CB had accepted Rs. 10 billion in bids after seeking only Rs.1 billion.

Normally bids made by the 16 registered primary dealers are each around 10 per cent of the total amount required, which in this case would have been Rs. 100 million per dealer. Market traders said they believed the dealer-company in question was Perpetual Capital controlled by Arjun Aloysius, son-in-law of CB Governor Arjuna Mahendran. CB officials were not immediately available for clarification on the issue.

Dealers said a few weeks ago, before the 30 year bond was floated, the CB had announced a private placement bond issue where the prescribed rate was 9+ per cent. Going by this rate, dealers bidding for the 30 year bond which was auctioned on Friday had used this earlier rate as a benchmark but to their dismay found that the CB had accepted a higher rate.

“Also what is surprising is that the said dealer had routed the deal through a state bank instead of making the offer themselves which is also unusual and raises questions,” one dealer said. – ENDS –

This story was disseminated by mafias who control the market - CB Governor replies

 Thursday, 05 March 2015 

By responding to our news which appeared on our website on 2nd March 2015 the Central Bank Governor Arjuna Mahendra told us the following.

"Bond prices go DOWN when interest rates rise. So i m not sure who made any profits. My son in law resigned from Perpetual when I became the Governor of the Central Bank. This story is being spread by a mafia who were controlling the market thru private placements. I did the first 30 year auction since September 2014 and have BANNED private placements since. Interest rates will fall back to 9pct once the shock recedes"

List of dealers who bought sri lanka bond from central bank as follows

Sri Lanka cabinet suspends Chinese project on approval issue

An engineer walks through a part of a construction site of Chinese investment "Colombo Port City" in Colombo February 20, 2015. 

A tank for drinking water is seen on a reclaimed site at a construction site of a Chinese real estate project of a port city in Colombo March 5, 2015. 

BY SHIHAR ANEEZ-Thu Mar 5, 2015 

(Reuters) - Sri Lanka suspended a $1.5-billion Chinese luxury real estate project in Colombo on Thursday until it obtains required government approvals, a move that risks a diplomatic row with its biggest foreign investor.

The new government, elected in January promising to end the corruption it said was rife in the country, decided at a cabinet meeting to suspend the project critics have called a sweetheart deal between China and the previous administration.

The project, the biggest of several Chinese investments in Sri Lankan ports and infrastructure, involves a port city on reclaimed land in the capital, complete with shopping malls, a water sports area, golf course, hotels, apartments and marinas.

Government spokesman Rajitha Senaratne said the China Communications Construction Co Ltd (CCCC) project had been launched "without relevant approvals from concerned institutions". The government has said the deal was not transparent and did not meet environmental standards.

The project has also raised security concerns in neighboring India, which has uneasy relations with China, because it appears to be part of a larger plan by Beijing to expand its presence and influence in the Indian Ocean region.

The project was to give the Chinese firm 108 hectares of land as payment, some of it outright and the rest on a 99-year lease, and that aspect of the deal worries India because many India-bound cargoes pass through Colombo.

China has said the Colombo port city and another port under development in southern Sri Lanka were good for the country as tens of thousands of jobs would be created and millions of dollars of foreign direct investment would come in.

Earlier on Thursday, before the cabinet decision, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said it hoped Colombo would resolve the project issue in a way that maintains the confidence of Chinese firms investing in Sri Lanka.

China has emerged as a major investor in the Indian Ocean island state, focusing on building ports and highways.

Sri Lanka has threatened legal action against the Chinese firm if it went ahead with work on the port project. 

(Reporting by Shihar Aneez; Editing by Sanjeev Miglani and Tom Heneghan)

PLO leadership votes to suspend security cooperation with Israel

 Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas at the meeting of the Palestine Liberation Organisation’s central committee. Photograph: Majdi Mohammed/AP

Peter Beaumont in Jerusalem-Thursday 5 March 2015

The leadership of the Palestine Liberation Organisation has voted to suspend all security cooperation with Israel, insisting that Israel, as occupying power, “should assume all responsibilities” for the Palestinian territories under international law.

A statement issued by the PLO’s central committee on Thursday night announced it was calling for the suspension of “all forms of security coordination given Israel’s systematic and ongoing non-compliance with its obligations under signed agreements, including its daily military raids throughout the State of Palestine, attacks against our civilians and properties.”

Although the final decision to implement the council’s decision rests with the Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, usually well informed sources told the Guardian that Abbas supported the decision.

The move, after two days of talks by the PLO’s central council, comes in the midst of a close-run Israeli election campaign and is certain to escalate tension between Palestinians and Israelis.

The statement added: “Israel, the occupying power in Palestine, must assume all its responsibilities in accordance with its obligations under international law.”

It called for a boycott of all “Israeli products and not only those coming from Israeli settlements”, adding: “Israel must pay the price for its refusal to assume its responsibilities under international law, including the systematic denial of the Palestinian right to self-determination.”

Although the Guardian understands that the end of security cooperation will not be immediate, the decision by the PLO is regarded as binding on the Palestinian Authority and Abbas.

Security cooperation between the Palestinian Authority on the West Bank andIsrael has long been seen as key to maintaining a fragile calm between the two sides and its ending would mark a serious escalation of the recent crisis between the two sides since the collapse of US-led peace talks almost a year ago.

The move comes only a couple of weeks before Palestine’s formal accession to the International Criminal Court (ICC) on 1 April when Palestinians are expected to present cases alleging serious breaches of international law to the court of last resort.

That, in turn, would trigger the United States Congress to order the withholding of US aid to the Palestinian Authority under legislation passed by Congress.

The decision by the PLO’s central committee follows the decision by Israel to withhold tax monies it collects on behalf of the Palestinian Authority after Abbas applied to join the ICC. As a result, the Palestinian Authority has struggled to pay the wages of its employees for the past two months, including the police forces.

'Boko Haram' kills dozens in raid on Nigerian village

Nigerian forces have been struggling to contain the Boko Haram insurgency

5 March 2015

Suspected Boko Haram militants have killed at least 45 people in a village in Borno state, north-east Nigeria, witnesses have said.

The gunmen who stormed Njaba targeted men and boys before setting the village on fire, survivors added.

The raid happened early on Tuesday but was not reported immediately because of the remoteness of the area.

Boko Haram has killed thousands of people in its drive to establish an Islamic state.

The raid on Njaba came as many villagers were attending morning prayers, a witness quoted by news website Sahara Reporters said.

Fatima Abaka said there was "pandemonium" when the shooting started.

"I ran into the bush. Since then I [have] never seen my husband and three children," she said. "[I] came back to our village in the afternoon, dead bodies were scattered everywhere."

Cross-border raids

Another witness, Aminatu Mommodu, said the bodies of victims, including many men with their throats slit, were in the mosque.

Other villagers caught by the gunmen outside the mosque had been shot, she said.

Njaba is about 100km (62 miles) south of the state capital, Maiduguri.

Ibrahim Wagu, a Maiduguri resident who comes from Njaba, told Reuters news agency that two of his relatives had been killed.

"My older brother and my sister's first son were killed," he said.

Boko Haram controls large areas of Borno state but in recent months has also carried out cross-border raids into Chad, Cameroon and Niger.

The three countries have joined Nigeria to form a military coalition, which has recaptured several towns and villages in recent weeks.

Chadian forces have recently helped the Nigerian army recapture several towns and villages from Boko Haram.

Exclusive: Scribbled note shows Nemtsov on trail of Russian deaths in Ukraine

A visitor holds flowers and a book ''Confessions of the Rebel'' by Russian leading opposition figure Boris Nemtsov while waiting to attend a memorial service before the funeral of Nemtsov in Moscow, March 3, 2015.

BY DARYA KORSUNSKAYA AND GABRIELA BACZYNSKA-Thu Mar 5, 2015

(Reuters) - It may have been the last note Boris Nemtsov ever wrote, a hurried scrawl in blue pen on a plain white sheet of A4 paper.

A day before he was shot dead near the Kremlin last week, the Russian opposition figure and his close aide Olga Shorina were discussing a sensitive investigation he was preparing into Moscow's backing for separatist fighters in eastern Ukraine.

Fearing their office was bugged by state intelligence, Nemtsov resorted to scribbling.

"Some paratroopers from Ivanovo have got in touch with me. 17 killed, they didn't give them their money, but for now they are frightened to talk," said the note, shown to Reuters by Shorina.

"He did not want to say anything, just in case. He did not want to utter it out loud, which is why he wrote it down for me," she said.

It was not possible to independently confirm the authenticity of the handwritten note.

Since last summer, reports have been circulating inside the country that many serving Russian troops have died in combat in eastern Ukraine, where the separatist war has killed more than 6,000 people.

Despite what Ukraine and its Western allies say is overwhelming evidence, Moscow adamantly denies sending arms or troops to the region, saying any Russians fighting in Ukraine are volunteers.

That is why Nemtsov's last report was so sensitive - perhaps sensitive enough, according to some of his friends, to provide at least part of the motive for killing him, though they say they doubt it was the main reason.

Last Friday night, after dining next to Red Square, the 55-year-old former deputy prime minister was shot four times in the back while strolling home with his girlfriend across a bridge within sight of the Kremlin.

He was the most prominent opposition figure to be killed during President Vladimir Putin's 15-year rule. The president has called his death a shameful tragedy, and the Kremlin has denied any involvement.

NO AIR-TIME

Nemtsov was part of a liberal opposition which is supported only by a minority of Russians. He was almost never given air-time on state-run television and radio.

The publication of his report was therefore not likely to resonate with the wider public, which polls show backs Putin's policy on Ukraine. But Shorina said he had been planning to publish 1 million copies, to reach as wide an audience as possible.

In a campaign over many years to expose what he saw as Putin's misrule, Nemtsov had previously published eight reports, including investigations into alleged corruption surrounding last year's Sochi Winter Olympics and into assets owned by the president and his circle.

Shorina and other Nemtsov associates said most of the material he had gathered on Ukraine was from open sources, and that he had not been intending to reveal any explosive new information.

However, she said in the course of research he had been contacted by relatives of a group of Russian soldiers who, according to Nemtsov, had been in action in eastern Ukraine. He was trying to persuade them to make their accounts public.

These were the servicemen who according to Nemtsov's note were based in Ivanovo, a city about 300 km (185 miles) north-east of Moscow which is home to units of the Russian military's 98th paratroop division.

"He was maintaining contact with them," Shorina said. "How he was maintaining contact with them, I don't know, he did not put me in touch with anyone."

Shorina said she and another Nemtsov associate, Ilya Yashin, would try to salvage the information Nemtsov had been gathering and attempt to publish the report in a month. As far as she was aware, he had only managed to write down a table of contents.

She said that for previous reports, Nemtsov had stored most of the information in his head, and would dictate it to her when he was ready.

Yashin said he and Nemtsov had spoken about the Ukraine report about a day and a half before his death.

"He told me he had been in touch with relatives of Russian soldiers killed there and he was planning a trip to Ivanovo to talk to the parents of those killed soldiers," Yashin said.

"He said in the very near future he was going to assemble and put in order various evidence and documents directly proving the presence of the Russian military on the territory of Ukraine and, accordingly, (exposing) President's Putin's lies that there are no Russian servicemen there."

Nemtsov had also settled on a title for the report, Yashin said. He was planning to call it: "Putin and the War".

(Writing by Christian Lowe; Editing by Mark Trevelyan)

U.S. Ambassador Attacked in South Korea

Reports say Mark Lippert was attacked by a man with a knife, but is in stable condition

U.S. ambassador to South Korea Mark Lippert was injured in an attack by a man with a knife early Thursday morning in Seoul. PHOTO:REUTERS

By ALASTAIR GALE AndJEYUP S. KWAAK-March 4, 2015

SEOUL—The U.S. ambassador to South Korea was injured in an attack on Thursday by a man wielding a knife and shouting anti-American statements, U.S. officials, local police and witnesses said.

Ambassador Mark Lippert, 42 years old, received treatment at a Seoul hospital for injuries to his face. An official at the U.S. embassy said Mr. Lippert was in “stable condition” and his injuries weren’t life threatening.

Police identified the suspect as Kim Ki-jong and said he had been quickly apprehended and was being questioned. They said he lunged at Mr. Lippert with a 25-centimeter (10-inch) knife at a lecture hall in downtown Seoul around 7:40 a.m.

Mr. Kim couldn’t be reached for comment and it wasn’t known if he had legal representation.

Footage shows Mr. Lippert clutching his face as he is ushered out of the building after the attack.

Television footage showed Mr. Lippert walking from the scene to a police car and holding his face with a cloth. Blood spatters marked his hand, face, neck and clothing. Footage later showed the ambassador arriving at the hospital and saying, “I’m OK.”

A spokeswoman for the State Department said embassy officials were coordinating with South Korean police on the investigation. Police said Mr. Kim was being questioned to determine the motive for the attack. Eyewitnesses told local media that Mr. Kim shouted that he opposed military drills being conducted in South Korea by local and U.S. forces. Mr. Kim, who wore a traditional Korean hanbok outfit, also called for Korean reunification.

The eyewitnesses said the attacker approached Mr. Lippert, who was seated, from behind and pushed him forward before cutting him. Mr. Lippert attempted to fend off the attack while still in his seat, they said. Initial reports had said the weapon was a razorblade.

Mark Lippert @mwlippert

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Doing well&in great spirits! Robyn, Sejun, Grigsby & I - deeply moved by the support! Will be back ASAP to advance US-ROK alliance! 같이 갑시다!

2:34 AM - 5 Mar 2015

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Mr. Kim was arrested in 2010 for throwing pieces of concrete at Japan’s ambassador to South Korea and received a suspended jail term. His personal website shows his involvement in activism to oppose Japan’s claim to islets controlled by South Korea and known internationally as the Liancourt Rocks. Recent postings on his site also show his opposition to the military exercises being held by U.S. and South Korean forces.

The annual drills began earlier this week and are a source of tension with North Korea, which portrays them as preparations for an invasion. South Korea and the U.S. say the drills are necessary to ensure readiness in case of a North Korean attack.

Mr. Kim was escorted out of the police station where he was being questioned on a stretcher and taken away in an ambulance around 11 a.m. after telling police he was sick. He repeatedly told gathered media, “I oppose war drills.” Local reports said Mr. Kim had previously tried to set himself on fire in a protest near the presidential Blue House in 2007.

Footage shows police and others holding a man to the ground after the attack on the ambassador.

Mr. Lippert took up his position as ambassador last year and regularly walks to work, engaging with people on the streets. Seoul is known as a safe city, with violent street crime extremely rare although two recent multiple shootings in regional cities have shaken South Koreans’ sense of security.

The ambassador was scheduled to give a speech titled “Peace and Unification on Korean Peninsula and the Direction for Development of South Korea-U.S. Relations” at the event hosted by the Korean Council for Reconciliation and Cooperation, an organization that promotes inter-Korean ties.

In a statement, the organization apologized for the attack, calling it “an unpardonable act of terror.”

An organization official said Mr. Kim helped found the group in 1998 but wasn’t actively involved in its operation. the official said Mr. Kim wasn't invited to the event but he was able to attend because he “was a familiar face” who regularly attended reunification-related events.

Anti-American sentiment occasionally flares up in South Korea but is mostly limited to fringe groups on the extreme political left who blame the U.S. for the division of the peninsula. Some activists have held small demonstrations against the drills but opinion polls show strong public support for security ties with the U.S., which has around 28,500 troops in South Korea.

Police said they would increase security around U.S.-related facilities, local media reported.

Write to Alastair Gale at alastair.gale@wsj.com and Jeyup S. Kwaak atjeyup.kwaak@wsj.com