Israel starves Christian schools of funds

Alia Al Ghussain The Electronic Intifada 11 September 2015

Palestinian Christians protest discriminatory school funding outside Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s offices in Jerusalem on 6 September.

 Abir SultanEPA

 

Staff in 47 Christian schools serving Palestinians within present-day Israel have gone on strike to protest against funding cuts imposed on them by the government.

Israel Starves Christian Schools of Funds by Thavam Ratna

Corbyn elected as UK Labour party leader with over 59 percent of vote 

Positions held by Corbyn, once seen as an unlikely frontrunner, could see shift in UK policies in the Middle East 
Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn is applauded after ballot results are announced at London's Queen Elizabeth Conference Centre on 12 September 2015 (AFP) 

Saturday 12 September 2015

Jeremy Corbyn, once seen as an unlikely frontrunner in a race that many see as a precursor to major shifts in UK political dynamics, has been named as the Labour party's new leader. 

After winning with over 59 percent of the vote, Corbyn said that his first act would be to participate in the "Refugees Welcome Here" demonstration in London to be held today to show how refugees "must be treated and should be treated in this country".

In recent months, the 66-year-old backbencher and MP for London's Islington North who has served in parliament for 32 years, has electrified the race.

He has drawn support from students who had never voted before to older people disillusioned with Labour since it tacked to the centre under Tony Blair in the 1990s and led Britain into the 2003 Iraq war, which Corbyn opposed and recently said he would apologise to the British and Iraqi people for if elected.

“Let us say we will never again unnecessarily put our troops under fire and our country’s standing in the world at risk. Let us make it clear that Labour will never make the same mistake again, will never flout the United Nations and international law," Corbyn told The Guardian.

For the UK's Middle East policy, Chris Doyle, director of the Council for the Arab-British Understanding (CAABU), told the Middle East Eye that Corbyn's win marks the first time in a long time there will be clear and wide distinctions between the Conservtive government and the main opposition.

"It really is going to open up foreign affairs, as well as many other issues, to be a far more combative part of the British political scene," Doyle said. "It will be fascinating to see who he elects as his shadow foreign secretary, shadow international development and shadow defence ministers. I think it may tell us a great deal about how far he is personally willing to push his own views or whether he willing to go with the consensus."

Corbyn, a patron of the Palestinian Solidarity Campaign, has campaigned on issues ranging from involving Hamas and Hezbollah in Middle East peace talks, to spending more on public services such as schools and hospitals, to scrapping nuclear weapons and renationalising industries like the railways.

He has also said that he is opposed to the current airstrikes against Islamic State targets in Iraq and to extending them to Syria, a position that saw UK Prime Minister David Cameron say last week that he would abandon his plans for an extension into Syria if Corbyn was elected. 

“If we just go in bombing, civilians will be killed, and I suspect then there will be a call for ground forces to follow. There is no parliamentary authority for military action as of now – it was rejected in 2013,” Corbyn told Russia Today. “There has to be a political solution to the whole issue."

Fourteen Labour MPs, however, told BBC Newsnight that they would defy Corbyn and vote for the extension.

Corbyn has also been critical of Cameron's recent announcement that the UK killed two British members of IS, who he said were plotting attacks on the UK, with drone strikes.

The Short- and Long-Term Effects of Alcohol On the Body 

September 9, 2015
Alcohol consumption affects your overall health because when alcohol enters your body, it’s first absorbed by your stomach and small intestine. Then, it flows through the bloodstream throughout the body, reaching your heart, brain, muscles and other tissues. This article will present the short-term as well as long-term effects alcohol has on both your behavior and your health in case you have more than two servings a day. It’s up to you to decide whether it’s worth the risk.

Short-Term Effects

A few drinks with your friends will slow down your central nervous system because alcohol has adverse impact on the balance of neurotransmitters, which are the chemicals responsible for communicating information between nerves. The most common symptoms you will experience are:

-Drowsiness

-Headaches

-Vomiting

-Slurred speech

-Upset stomach

-Diarrhea

-Distorted vision and hearing

-Impaired judgment

-Decreased perception and coordination

-Breathing difficulties

-Unconsciousness

-Anemia (loss of red blood cells)

-Coma

-Blackouts (memory lapses or not being able to remember events that happened while under the influence)

You also run the risk of blacking out, which may lead to a serious injury. Driving after drinking, which is the last thing you should do in this case, is extremely dangerous as you are more likely to speed, hit another vehicle, or not wear a seatbelt. Moreover, alcohol use has been related to fire injuries, dangerous falls, drowning and industrial accidents.

Alcohol and Driving

Alcohol lowers neurotransmission levels, thus reducing your vision, coordination, reaction time, multitasking ability, judgment, and decision-making. So, if all your cognitive abilities are impaired, how can driving be safe? Plus, alcohol prevents you from identifying dangerous situations and making good decisions about an impending danger, slowing down your reaction time even when you make a good decision. In addition, distance and speed perception are distorted when you are under the influence of alcohol, which makes you see things farther or closer than they truly are, or makes you feel you’re driving the speed limit when you’re actually speeding.

Hidden Effects

Alcohol consumption also affects your proper body function, and the most common alcohol-induced changes include:

- Lowered immune response

-Irregular heartbeat

-High blood pressure

-Inflammation of your stomach lining

-Irregular heartbeat

-High blood pressure

-Shortness of breath

-Respiratory infections

Long-Term Effects

Surely, long-term alcohol consumption can further aggravate these hidden effects. While the short-term effects from drinking generally disappear once the alcohol has been metabolized in and thrown out from your body, regular use of alcohol will not only make these effects worse, but will also make them permanent.

Thus, over time you will experience cognitive difficulties, such as acquiring and processing new information as well as problem-solving difficulties.

Moreover, many heart conditions result from frequent use of alcohol, including cardiomyopathy – enlargement of the heart muscle which makes it more rigid and harder to contract, then coronary heart disease, increased blood pressure, cardiac arrhythmia and a higher risk of stroke. Approximately 25% people who regularly consume alcohol are affected with some of these conditions.

Continuous alcohol consumption can also lead to a higher risk of mouth, throat, esophageal, bowel, breast, and liver cancer, along with musculoskeletal damage.

Sri Lanka: Give all victims a chance for justice

 September 10, 2015

With its new leaders promising to put Sri Lanka on a path towards reform and reconciliation, justice for grave crimes must not be neglected. By joining the ICC, Sri Lanka can signal to its citizens and the international community that it is ready to break away from impunity and its violent past. Add your voice now.

Six years after the end of its 26-year long civil war, victims of grave crimes from all sides are still awaiting justice. The Sri Lankan government must no longer turn its back on its responsibility to protect its citizens.

That’s why we’re calling on recently inaugurated Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and President Maithripala Sirisena to accede to the ICC Rome Statute part of our Campaign for Global Justice this month.

JOIN OUR CALL ON SRI LANKA TO JOIN THE ICC.

Amielle Del Rosario, Coalition Asia-Pacific regional coordinator

“Sri Lanka’s new leaders have a remarkable opportunity to demonstrate a ability and willingness to usher in an era of true reconciliation based on justice and dignity for all its citizens. Sri Lankans deserve real reform. To restore the confidence of its citizens and to show the rest of the world that it is on the path to greater stability and development, it must sign the Rome Statute as a measure of good faith”.

Niran Anketell, head of the legal and justice unit for the South Asian Centre for Legal Studies based in Sri Lanka.

“Sri Lanka’s record of domestic accountability throughout its post-independence history has been characterized by a lack of political will, lack of capacity, political interference and chronic failure. This is why international participation in any in-country accountability mechanisms is crucial. For the new government to secure the trust of its citizens, Sri Lanka needs to break dramatically with the past. A process of attributing criminal liability for the most egregious crimes is a necessary starting point.”

This week, we sent a letter to President Maithripala Sirisena and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe calling on their newly formed government to ratify the Rome Statute and explaining the ways that the Rome Statute would be able to help empower Sri Lanka’s domestic capacity to investigate and prosecute the worst crimes.

The Rome Statute system also has ground-breaking provisions regarding witness protection and victim participation, which should be at the heart of any accountability process.

JOIN OUR CALL ON SRI LANKA TO JOIN THE ICC.

Later this month, the long-awaited report of Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights on alleged human rights violations during the conflict in Sri Lanka will be released and discussed at the 30th session of the Human Rights Council.

Sri Lankan civil society hopes that the report will take a strong position on the need for credible measures towards accountability, and that it include the recommendation to ratify the Rome Statute of the ICC, as well as the introduction of enabling domestic legislation.

Any further delays towards the establishment of a framework based on the rule of law and protects its citizens from the worst crimes will severely undermine the expectations and confidence invested by victims and civil society in accountability and convey a message of condoning impunity. Sri Lanka must break away from its violent by and joining the ICC system of international justice.

JOIN OUR CALL ON SRI LANKA TO JOIN THE ICC.

Sri Lanka: Human Rights:Written question - 8715

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Sri Lanka: Human Rights

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations he has made to his Sri Lankan counterpart on the treatment of Tamil detainees in Sri Lanka since the election of President Maithripala Sirisena; and if he will make a statement.

We frequently engage with the government of Sri Lanka on human rights issues including on the treatment of detainees.

We have raised human rights issues at all levels, as the Prime Minister, my right hon. Friend the Member for Witney (Mr Cameron), did when he met President Sirisena in March. The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond), did likewise with the Sri Lankan Foreign Minister on 2 June. I have also raised the issue with the government on a number of occasions, including during my visit to Sri Lanka in January.

The UK has actively supported the improvement of human rights, accountability and reconciliation in Sri Lanka through multilateral organisations such as the UN, the Commonwealth and the EU as well as through bilateral funding of targeted programmes.

Geneva report on SL war crime due for release on 14 th has still not reached SL govt.- No time to answer

(Lanka-e-News -11.Sep.2015, 10.00PM) The report of the commissioner of the Human rights council regarding the alleged human rights violations during the final phase of the Sri Lanka’s (SL) ethnic war has still not been made known .It is therefore being questioned by the Geneva High commission division why it is so? According to the foreign affairs ministry in Colombo, this report supposed to contain more than 200 pages has still not been received by the SL government. This report has to be received well on time in order to file  answers, foreign affairs ministry reports.

The  website has already disclosed that this report under ref. A/HRC/30/61 is to be presented at the 30 th session of the forthcoming Human rights council (HRC) slated for 14 th September (Monday). This conference concludes on 2 nd October.It is the tradition of the council to forward the report well ahead   to the government. Speculations are therefore  rife  that the HRC has slowed down under its High commissioner Said.

This report should have been presented   five months ago , that is, in March, and that was  finalized two months ago , it is learnt.

State leaders or Ministers address the Council during the first week of  the sessions.A minister representing SL  is expected to express his views  pertaining to the report at the session. In the circumstances , because the report has still not been received , the ability for the SL government to respond during the time allocated within the first week is rendered  difficult.

The UN High commissioner is expected to officially present the report relating to SL on September 30 th, following which ,the council will hold  discussions in that regard. 

Prior to this on 17 th Thursday , the American delegation will unofficially discuss at an exhaustive  meeting, the resolution pertaining to SL to be presented at the session with the participation of the high commissioner and civil society . The US had stated this resolution is to be discussed jointly with SL government  . However if the High commissioner Said continues with his dilatory attitude keeping back  the report regarding SL , the purpose of the joint discussion  will be defeated.

In any event , already rumors are afloat , this time the HRC is toeing a soft line  towards SL.

No matter  what, it is learnt  that the investigation report of the HRC had made concrete war crime  charges against the SL government and the LTTE organization.

Acceptable evidence  regarding killing of LTTE leaders who surrendered with white flags ; the disappearance of another group of LTTE leaders who surrendered through a father (priest) on 19 th May 2009 ; shelling of hospitals in the war zone have been received by the team that conducted the investigation.

Among the charges levelled againt the LTTE organization are : forced conscription of civilians , killing of groups that tried to move into the government’s safety zone , and many other charges.

Although a number of incidents that took place prior to this period were reported to the committee of investigation . specially by Muslims and Sinhala groups , those have not been included in the report 

(By a special reporter of Lanka e news reporting  from Geneva)
Translated by Jeff 

---------------------------
by     (2015-09-11 16:39:28)

TNA’s Bid To Remove NPC Chief Wiggie Continues As He Says No Sri Lankan Judge Will Ever Find Fault With Military

September 11, 2015

The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) alliance is making plans to remove its own nominee C.V. Wigneswaran as the chief minister of Northern Provincial council.

Chief Minister CV Wigneswaran

A majority of TNA members according to a provincial council member are currently discussing ways and means of removing the chief minister.

They are planning to either submit a no-confidence motion or a letter to the Governor seeking the removal of the chief minister.

A TNA provincial council member said that at a meeting which took place recently TNA members representing the council had asked Wigneswaran to step down.

Wigneswaran in reply has said that this was a decision the people should make.

According to the PC member the TNA group is up in arms mainly due to Wigneswaran’s recent behavior where he has criticized the party and been non-committal with regards to campaigning on the party’s behalf at the recent general election.

In fact the TNA PC member said that Wigneswaran’s behavior at the recent elections was anti-TNA to say the least.

However TNA is in a dilemma on how to remove Wigneswaran whom the party called as its chief ministerial nominee openly prior to the PC polls two years back.

A TNA member said that the chief minister could not be removed by a no-confidence motion and this could only be done by the governor acting on the request of a majority in the council.

However such a removal too could be challenged in courts, according to this member.

Even some TNA parliament members have openly criticized Wigneswaran in recent times.

The TNA’s deputy leader in Parliament, Mavai S. Senathirajah, had said that Wigneswaran seemed to have forgotten the “tireless work” doe by ITAK and the TNA workers two years ago to elect him as the chief minister of the northern provincial council.                                        Read More

UK Country Guidelines for Sri Lanka Media Personal Seeking Asylum

11/09/2015

This document provides guidance to Home Office decision makers on handling claims from – as well as country of origin information (COI) about – journalists (incl.internet-based media), media professionals and human rights activists from Sri Lanka.

Read the full document as PDF: CIG_-_Sri_Lanka_-_Treatment_of_Journalists_and_Human_Rights_Activists_-_v1_0

This includes whether claims are likely to justify the granting of asylum, humanitarian protection or discretionary leave and whether – in the event of a claim being refused – t is likely to be certifiable as ‘clearly unfounded’ under s94 of the  Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002.

Policy Summary
• In relation to the previous Government the country guidance case of GJ & Others found that journalists, media professionals and human rights activists who have, or are perceived to have, criticised the Sri Lankan government, in particular its human rights record, or who are associated with publications critical of the Sri Lankan government, may be at real risk of persecution or harm on return to Sri Lanka.

• However since the new Sri Lankan government came to office in January 2015 they have taken steps to review, case-by-case, those detained under the Prevention of Terrorism Act, lifted restrictions on media reporting, ended Internet censorship and appointed non-military personnel as governors to the North and East provinces.

• Journalists, media professionals and human rights activists are reportedly able to express themselves more freely and ommunicate publicly.  However, some individuals may still be at real risk.

• The onus will be on the person to demonstrate that they are at real risk from the current, rather than the previous, government

• The onus is on the person to demonstrate that effective state protection against non-state actors is not available.

• Internal relocation is not an option for a person at real risk from the Sri Lankan authorities.

• Where a claim based on the person ’s activities as a journalist, media professional or human rights activist is refused, it is unlikely to be certifiable as ‘clearly unfounded’ under section 94 of the Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002

CIG - Sri Lanka - Treatment of Journalists and Human Rights Activists - V1 0 by Thavam Ratna

Wickremesinghe’s Delhi visit likely to strengthen India-Sri Lanka ties

BY SUDHA RAMACHANDRAN on SEPTEMBER 10, 2015 in ASIA TIMES NEWS & FEATURES

Sri Lanka’s Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe is scheduled to visit India between 14 and 16 September.

Sri Lanka’s Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe

This is his first official visit abroad since he was appointed Prime Minister in January by the new President Maithripala Sirisena. That Wickremesinghe – like Sirisena in February – chose Delhi as the destination of his first state visit should reassure India of the priority it enjoys in the Sri Lankan government’s foreign policy agenda.

Wickremesinghe can expect a warm welcome in Delhi.

The Sirisena-Wickremesinghe team is “more trustworthy” than the Rajapaksa regime, an official in India’s Ministry of External Affairs said, drawing attention to their attempt over the past eight months to “restore balance” in Sri Lanka’s foreign policy, which had assumed a “pronounced pro-China tilt” during the Mahinda Rajapaksa presidency.

Relations between India and Sri Lanka deteriorated during Rajapaksa’s second term (2010-Jan 2015) over his government’s reluctance to initiate a meaningful reconciliation with the island’s alienated Tamils and the Sri Lankan navy’s detention of hundreds of Tamil Nadu fishermen straying into Sri Lankan waters.

India was also concerned over China’s growing role in the Sri Lankan economy; Delhi feared that Sri Lanka’s mounting indebtedness to China would result in the latter securing for itself a military presence in the island. Such anxieties became real in September-October 2014 when Chinese submarines docked twice in Sri Lanka’s harbors despite India’s objections.

Not surprisingly, when Rajapaksa was removed from the presidency in the January presidential election, India was relieved, only to have its apprehensions return a few months later when the ousted president sought to return to power as prime minister via the August general election. His failed attempt evoked relief in India’s Foreign Office.

The India-Sri Lanka relationship, which was “reset” in the wake of Rajapaksa’s ouster, is expected to improve further now, the MEA official said.

Among the issues the Indian government is expected to raise during Wickremesinghe’s visit are the fishermen conflict, the need for Colombo to “pursue assiduously” a solution to grievances of the island’s Tamils, the long-pending Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) and Sri Lanka’s relations with China.

On the fishermen’s issue, although Wickremesinghe had talked tough in March, warning Indian fishermen that they could expect to get shot if they entered Sri Lankan waters, in effect, his government has not been as harsh in its treatment of them as the previous government. Apparently, in recent months, the arrested Indian fishermen were not detained for long, prompting Delhi to believe that the Sri Lankan prime minister will be “reasonable” on the problem.

On CEPA too, India is optimistic. Wickremesinghe is a strong votary of the agreement.

It is on the question of China’s role in Sri Lanka that the two sides are unlikely to see eye-to-eye. While the Wickremesinghe government may avoid provoking India by allowing Chinese naval vessels to dock in its ports, it may not go far enough to please Delhi with regard to diluting ties with China.

India is keen on Sri Lanka cancelling Chinese infrastructure projects in the island especially the US$1.4 billion Colombo Port City (CPC) project, which it argues has implications for its security.

On becoming president, Sirisena suspended the CPC project pending an investigation. However, the project is likely to be revived in the coming months. Unlike India, Sri Lanka is not as bothered over Chinese investment in the island. Indeed it welcomes it as it needs investment in its infrastructure sector.

The main concern of the Sirisena-Wickremesinghe team is the unfavorable terms of contracts and the opaque manner in which they were finalized by the Rajapaksa government. Should the Chinese address issues such as environmental concerns, overpricing of projects, high rates of interest etc., with regard to the CPC project and other projects, the Sri Lankan government would not be averse to reviving suspended projects or even negotiating new ones.

However, the Sri Lankan government would do well to avoid excessive dependence on China. This is not a big challenge for Wickremesinghe.

Unlike Rajapaksa, who thumbed his nose at much of the international community and especially the West, Wickremesinghe is pro-West and could attract investment from an array of countries including Japan and the US. Diversifying sources of investment would go a long way in reducing Sri Lanka’s dependence on China.

That would calm Delhi’s nerves as well.

Dr Sudha Ramachandran is an independent journalist/researcher based in Bangalore, India, who writes on South Asian political and security issues

(Copyright 2015 Asia Times Holdings Limited, a duly registered Hong Kong company. All rights reserved. Please contact us about sales, syndication and republishing.)

Is Ravi Karunanayake’s Perception Unacceptable?

By Hema Senanayake –September 11, 2015

Hema Senanayake

Sri Lanka’s rupee … is hovering near a record low after being floated by the central bank last week, (Reuters). Today that is on September 10th Ravi Karunanayake the Minister of Finance has admitted indirectly that rupee has depreciated to an unacceptable level. That is why he told Reuters that, “We will ensure that before too long it will be brought back to an acceptable level.” What should be the acceptable value for rupee? He did not comment for this question. Good, let us leave it there.

But he told parliament on or around June 23rd that, “Sri Lanka will strengthen the rupee to 130 to the US dollar in two weeks from the current 133.90 to the US dollar” (Economynext). Opposite of his prediction proved right by now, not after two weeks from his above comment but nearly after 10 weeks. Instead of strengthening the rupee, it is depreciating. Now, let me quote something published on June 19th.

“… if Arjuna Mahendran thinks that market forces should determine the exchange value of the rupee, then this particular view might transcend into the general thinking of the CBSL staff resulting them allowing the rupee to float freely. If this happens most likely we will see the rupee which depreciates on a continuing basis.” (Hema Senanayake, June 19, 2015)

Please compare what Ravi Karunanayake has uttered and what the above named writer wrote on June 19th. Perhaps, Colombo Telegraph readers might clearly understand now that not only the value of rupee is unacceptable but also the shear perception or knowledge of Ravi on these matters is not acceptable.

Read More

No minibars, no limousines, no blue films; Maithri takes ‘Yaha Palanaya’ to New York!

Sep 11, 2015

President Maithripala Sirisena has barred the Sri Lankan delegation accompanying him to the United Nations General Assembly this time from using minibars or limousines, or watching blue films, say sources at the Sri Lankan embassy in Washington.

The president has given clear instructions to ambassador Prasad Kariyawasam to book a middle class hotel for the Lankan delegation and make arrangements for them to fulfill their intended mission without letting them waste public money to play havoc unlike in the past, said the sources.

Last year and in the preceding years, the then president Mahinda Rajapaksa took along with him all his family members, relatives and cronies, numbering more than 100 persons to, New York and booked one storey of Waldorf Astoria Hotel. The room booked for him alone cost 10,000 US dollars per night. Ten limousines were on service for the Rajapaksa family and their cronies. The minibar and blue film watching cost of the then foreign affairs ministry supervising MP Sajin Vaas Gunawardena during the tour was higher than the cost for his room. That money was spent not from the bank accounts of the Rajapaska family members or Sajin Vaas, but from the money of the taxpaying Sri Lankan people.

The collapse of the Rajapaksa regime began after their New York tour in September last year. During that tour, the drunken Sajin Vaas slapped the then high commissioner for Britain Dr. Chris Nonis. That slap changed the destiny of a country. Sajin Vaas has been in remand custody for months now. Nonis is back at his business work, while Mahinda Rajapaksa, who advised him, ‘Take it easy, Chris’, is today living at Medamulana as an average MP.

The then health minister Maithripala Sirisena, who had been watching all these unfolding like in a movie, is the president today. Going by the limitations he has imposed for the tour this year, it looks like he has learnt a lesson from what had befallen Rajapaksa. The Sri Lankan delegation led by president Sirisena is due to arrive in New York on September 23. The president will address the UNGA on September 24.