Wednesday, November 18, 2015

What does hate speech mean to you?

- on 11/18/2015

Featured image courtesy Huffington Post

Monday (November 16) marked the International Day of Tolerance.

This day is particularly relevant to Sri Lankans, as the Governmentannounced legislation to curb hate speech recently.

With this in mind, Groundviews has spoken to several members of civil society to ask: What does hate speech mean to you, and more importantly, how can it be curbed?

Click here to access the story, created on Microsoft Sway, directly.

Executive presidency abolishment after Sirisena term ends: Mangala

Claims President should hold powers after taking risk to be common candidate
Says abolishment necessary because of Rajapaksa abuse of power
25 investigations linked to former President ongoing

By Chamodi Gunawardana-Thursday, 19 November 2015
Weighing in on recent political efforts to abolish the executive presidency, Foreign Affairs Minister Mangala Samaraweera yesterday noted the abolishment would be enacted at the end of President Maithripala Sirisena’s current term of office.
Commenting on Sirisena’s Cabinet papers to abolish the executive presidency that was approved by Cabinet on Wednesday, Samaraweera said the Government expected to complete the approval process within six months but it would only be implemented after the current five-year term of President Sirisena comes to a close.
“According to this Cabinet paper, executive powers of the presidency will be transferred to the Parliament and other relevant institutions,” Samaraweera explained.
He added the Government should respect President Sirisena’s intention of abolishing the executive presidency and allow him to use those powers during the rest of his time in office.
“President Sirisena endangered his life by being the common candidate of the then united Opposition. We must think of what kind of critical situation he could have faced if he was defeated. He will be the last Sri Lankan president to possess executive powers,” he asserted.
Samaraweera charged the requirement of abolishing executive powers was necessary due to the abuse of power by ex-President Mahinda Rajapaksa.
“The Rajapaksa family robbed millions of dollars from public funds. The Police and the Bribery Commission have received 725 complaints regarding indirect involvement of the Rajapaksa family in misappropriations and other alleged crimes. Another 25 cases where the Rajapaksa family was directly involved are under investigation,” he claimed.

Executive Presidency in its death throes?

by Lalith Allahakkoon

( November 19, 2015, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) President Maithripala Sirisena has renewed his pledge to abolish the Executive Presidency ( EP) which had been a sticking point in the country’s body politic ever since its introduction in 1978.There had been various pledges to abolish the EP by political leaders seeking power. The SLFP which was the most vociferous critic of the system and even took to the streets demanding its abolishment, saying it was the fountainhead of all evil affecting the country, stayed put with the system, once installed in office. Even the left leaders such as Vasudeva Nanayakkara who tore JR apart for assuming excessive powers under the EP shamelessly voted for the 18th Amendment which did away with Presidential term limits. But this time though it appears that President Sirisena means business.

Addressing a group of Lankan expats who were granted duel citizenship, at a function at Temple Trees on Tuesday, the President promised to do away with the remaining powers of the Executive Presidency, a reference to the 19th Amendment. A special Cabinet paper was to be submitted yesterday towards this end, prior to which President Sirisena had a discussion with Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe. In it, he is to recommend the abolishing of the EP in toto and transfer its powers to Parliament.

It must be recalled that President Sirisena made the same pledge before the remains of Ven Maduluwawe Sobitha Thera, at the Parliament grounds prior to the cremation. He assured the nation that the Government would totally abolish the EP as promised in his election manifesto. The occasion was significant in that it was Ven Sobitha and his Movement for Social Justice who formed the vanguard agitating for the abolishing of the EP. There were even rumours to the effect that the prelate died a sad and disillusioned man due to the deviation from the Yahapalanaya course by the present incumbents and the failure to effectively do away with the EP.

Be that as it may, the President has shown urgency in this regard. He also sounds genuine. We say this because today the National Government commands a two thirds majority in Parliament unlike prior to August 17. On that occasion although the 19th Amendment was passed with only a single member of Parliament voting against, there was much filibuster on the part of the pro-Rajapaksa opposition that rendered the whole exercise somewhat of a farce.

This time though the National Government has solid support to effect the vital changes that will see the back of the EP in its totality. Hence it is more than likely that the President is deadly serious in scrapping the much maligned Executive Presidency that survived both Chandrika and Mahinda. There is however a snag.

It is well known that almost all the minority parties want the retention of the EP, as it gives them leverage with the major political parties, especially during election time. They are in a position to offer a bloc vote of their communities during a presidential election that would give them strong bargaining powers when it comes to the offer of Ministerial portfolios and other appointments, which would not be the case in a Parliament election when this vote is bound to get diluted leaving them in the lurch.

President Sirisena no doubt is placed in a dilemma. In trying to honour a major pledge made at the election and more importantly remove a major irritant with the majority community he has placed himself in a position whereby he will alienate the minorities who voted overwhelming towards his victory on January 8. Even among sections of the majority community notably the nationalist minded Sangha, abolishing the EP would not be taken to kindly (even people like Champika Ranawaka and Ven. Athuruliye Rathana demurred on this score). These sections are of the view that a Prime Minister dependent on a Parliament majority for survival is no substitute for a strong leadership with all the levers of power in his hands, embodied by an Executive. This notion was given much currency especially during the war against terrorism, where the need for a strong leadership in the form of the Executive President was emphasized.

On the other hand, for most, especially the enlightened and the initiated, the ills and shenanigans associated with the EP far outweighed its positive facets. These segments were privy to the blatant acts of bribery, corruption, nepotism and cronyism etc. that existed under the Rajapaksa oligarchy. It is they and the likes of Ven Sobitha who took the initiative towards ridding the country of the EP, which for them was the fount of all the ills that beset the country. They saw in the Rajapaksa act of doing away with Presidential terms, an attempt to further propagate family rule and pave the way for even greater corruption and oppression.

Pledging to abolish the EP the President put it in a nutshell when he said that the Executive Presidency posed a challenge to democracy and freedom of the people. Well, he has expressed his determination to exorcise the genie that had enveloped the entire nation with its evil influence.

( Lalith Allahakkoon is the Editor, Daily News, Colombo, where this piece was originally appeared.)

GMOA wants probe into Ven. Sobitha Thera's death

2015-11-18

The Government Medical Officers’ Association (GMOA) today requested President Maithripala Sirisena to launch a comprehensive, impartial, and swift investigation into the death of the Chief Incumbent of the Kotte Sri Naga Viharaya Ven. Maduluwawe Sobitha Thera.

Ven. Sobitha Thera who was also the convener of the National Movement for a Free and Just Society passed away at the Mount Elizabeth Hospital in Singapore on November 8.

However, the GMOA said it was difficult to come to a conclusion regarding the cause of the death since several suspicious circumstances had arisen how the prelate was treated in the country before he was flown to Singapore.

“Ven. Maduluwawe Sobitha Thera had been admitted to a private hospital in Colombo when he previously fell ill. He was keeping well after he was discharged from that hospital. He was not having a critical condition earlier. But, days after he had again fallen ill and had been admitted to another private hospital.

Unexpectedly, two germs that are possible to infect within a hospital environment have been discovered in the tissues of Thera’s lungs during investigations carried out by Asiri Hospitals Laboratory,” Dr. Naveen de Soyza, the Spokesman of GMOA said.

He said though some say the prelate had passed away as his illness worsened, the GMOA was of the view that something suspicious could have happened within the system where Sobitha Thera was treated.

Dr. Soyza urged the President to appoint a committee to probe the cause of the Prelate’s death.

“The committee should find how and where the germs, that were found in Sobitha Thera’s body, infected by questioning hospital staffs,” he said.

Meanwhile, Secretary of GMOA, Dr. Nalinda Herath said they heavily condemned the Chairman of the Neville Fernando Teaching Hospital in Malabe Dr. Neville Fernando’s move to sue the Chairman of the Sri Lanka Medical Council Professor Carlo Fonseka, who recently made a statement to the media with regard to the late Sobitha Thera.

“Without trying to intimidate the persons who openly talk about the suspiciousness of the prelate’s death by suing them, they should also call the government to launch a thorough investigation in to the matter so that those who are responsible for the incident could be found,” Dr. Herath said.

He added that the civil organisations that worked with the late Sobitha Thera should raise their voice regarding this. “The so-called civil organisations had been performing before the media when an issue with a governmental hospital was found, but now they are keeping silent,” Dr. Herath added. (Piyumi Fonseka)

Ven Maduluwawe Sobitha & The Imperatives Of True Tribute

By Krishantha Prasad Cooray –November 18, 2015

Krishantha Cooray

I first met Ven Madoluwawe Sobitha Thero almost a decade ago, through my father-in-law Padmavarna Wijayatilake. The first impression marked me. There was an aura about Sobitha Hamuduruwo. That’s why when a friend, Martin Pieris, wanted to write a book about prominent Sri Lankan personalities, I said that Sobitha Hamuduruwo not only has to be in it but deserves to be featured in the cover.

In all my encounters thereafter the impression I had of Sobitha Hamuduruwo as a visionary and a fearless leader who could mobilize people to a just cause was reaffirmed time and again. He had a good understanding of the state of things in the country. He had a vision of what this country could be and he had a road map that would take the country there. Most of all he had the patience and will so necessary to make it all a reality.

Sobitha Hamuduruwo always championed causes that he considered were just. He never worried about consequences which were often harsh and included injuries to his person. Despite this, he seldom focused on the identity of the person or party that caused him injury, choosing instead to concentrate on systems and processes that produced such outcomes. Through it all, he never lost sight of the objectives that prompted him to choose a particular course of action.

He was not alone in sensing the destructive and undemocratic path taken by Mahinda Rajapaksa, but to his credit even as he took on the man, he understood intimately that the individual was the product of a serious systemic flaw. This does not mean that he didn’t criticize the individual. When General Sarath Fonseka was arrested, he was quick to point out what others knew but were scared to articulate: ‘The defeat of the LTTE was being converted into a victory of a family’. Read More

Maithri’s lies to conceal aims to become dictator and earn exposed..! Rajitha’s self humiliating conversation with LeN…

(Lanka-e-News -18.Nov.2015, 9.00PM) Following Lanka e news exposing the controversial acquisition by the Navy of the Avant Garde Co. a private Institution , and expressing its opposition to it ,the health minister Rajitha Senaratne spoke to Lanka e news in this regard. Hereunder is the conversation we had with us :

Rajitha: Hello. All the social websites that worked for the victory on 8 th are berating you.

LeN : True Doctor? On what grounds are they scolding us?

Rajitha: They are criticising you that you are stooping to do the sordid biddings of Avant Garde Co.

LeN: That is alright. We know what we are doing. Why , even on 8 th January a group castigated that we are doing the sordid biddings of Maithri too.

Rajitha: Okay , what is your issue in connection with this ?

LeN: Nothing is an issue to us. Even if Aavnt Garde is struck by lightning, that does not matter. The issue that concerns us , is the acquisition by the Navy of a private Co. without abiding by any laws.

Rajitha: It is Gota who gave it to Avant Garde. A house Gota could not sell in America was bought by Nissanka Senadhipathy after making a huge payment. As a reciprocal gesture Gota made this business and gave it to him.

LeN: Hold on Doctor, it was LeN that first published this story.We revealed this as far back as three years ago. Anyway now that is of no use. Now the question at issue is ,a Company being illegally given over to the forces.

Rajitha: If there is a problem to the national security , the president can give a company over to the forces.

LeN: Now , who told that there is an issue to the national security from this Co.?

Rajitha: At that time even I told the president . Deputy solicitor general Suhada Gamlath also told this.

LeN: Suhada Gamlath surely is not the attorney General. Besides you are a minister only , and not president’s security advisor. If there is problem to the national security , it is through the security council that should be addressed. The national intelligence service should have reported such a thing. Moreover it was not the security council that met on that day. Neither was it a cabinet meeting.. It was only the president and a few of you close to him who met . Under such circumstances , how can you take such a decision?

Rajitha: The president can take decisions any time regarding national security .

LeN: Doctor this is how you made Mahinda Rajapakse also a dictator. No matter what devil dance you want to perform , surely the laws of the country cannot be trampled .At least a gazette notification must be there . Moreover, how can an Institution that signed an ageement with the government 20 days ago suddenly become a threat to national security ?

Rajitha: Ha , ha , I am a trifle too busy now. Good night!

It is on this note the discussion ended. No president says I am going to be a dictator. They always say, this is being done for national security , or this is being done to safeguard religion. These are their deceitful utterances. President Maithri is one who says one thing and does the very opposite. Within the last ten months alone he had proved this on many occasions.

‘I am not coming to amend the executive presidency , but to abolish it’ were the categorical assurances of double tongued Maithri .Subsequently when the 19 th amendment was brought forward , ‘ the executive powers in the presidency will be curtailed’ , he said. LeN at that juncture did not deter to expose Mathri’s double dealing policies.

At that moment Rajitha and Champika were with Maithri playing the double game tournament .

Thereafter, without dissolving the parliament in 100 days , delayed this dissolution until the Rajapakses became strong , even blocking the passage of the financial bill in parliament. During that period Rajitha and Champika were not on the side of the people , but rather with Maithri’s stealthy and sordid activities while blabbering about the election system.

The urgency they had to change the elections system then , they do not have now. This taking over the private establishment by the forces is president Maithripala’s most reprehensible dictatorial action . Rajitha and Champika were aiding and abetting him. This is not for any other reason , but to take control of this lucrative business themselves.

LeN is in possesion of evidence that testifies to president’s mendacity. That is , an agreement was signed on 20 th October ( 20 days ago) between Avant Garde Co . supposed to be a threat to national security and Rakna Lanka Co. which is completely under the defense ministry of Maithripala Sirisena. Regarding Rakna Lanka Co. the website reveals thus :

'' Rakna Arakshaka Lanka Limited (RALL) is a Sri Lanka Government owned business undertaking in collaboration with the Ministry of Defence...''

Accordingly , the president as defense minister is absolutely bound with this agreement. Mind you ,by that time Avant Garde Co. was in the midst of a storm of controversy.

In that backdrop how could such an agreement be signed? Why was this agreement torn asunder , and the company was given over to the forces?

Is there any more evidence needed to prove that there is no law in the country , whereby Rajithas , Champikas and Sirisenas are exploiting the situation to make crocodiles into other reptiles and vice versa. We warn the nation that this kind of illegal and nefarious actions will not stop at this , when wolves and hyenas have got together.

In the photographs herein are the agreements signed between Maithri’s Rakna Lanka Co. and Avant Garde Co .20 days ago. Readers can magnify and read them

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by (2015-11-18 17:02:03)

Cultural divide in higher education and elsewhere

Wednesday, 18 November 2015

In Britain, somebody who is brown outside and white inside is apparently called a ‘coconut’. In the Sri Lankan context white would represent our own kind of being white – i.e. growing up with English as the language spoken at home. The English Speaking Elite (ESE) in Sri Lanka is separated from the rest by a language chasm of the scale of the Grand Canyon in USA.

Cultural Divide in Higher Education and Elsewhere by Thavam Ratna

MP Tables Report In Parliament

Army Media Spokesperson Brigadier Jayanath Jayaweera and UNP MP Buddhika Pathirana

by Ashanthi Warunasuriya- Wednesday, November 18, 2015

During recent times, the Bribery Commission received a large number of files on allegations of frauds and corruptions from every corner of the country. In addition to them, the Sri Lanka Army is also carrying out an internal investigation into alleged incidents of sexual bribes and frauds within the Military Police Force. United National Party (UNP) parliamentarian Buddhika Pathirana recently had tabled the report on these allegations. Already, several allegedly ‘corrupt’ military officers have been revealed.

MP Tables Report in Parliament by Thavam Ratna

Nepotism & The Political Brats

By Granville Perera –November 18, 2015

When Mervyn Silva, the political outcast from Kelaniya is fading away another Mervyn is in the making in the Gampaha district. He is none other than Chathura Senaratne, son of Rajitha Senaratne, the current Minister of Health and one of President Maithripala Sirisena’s closest confidantes. Chathura is becoming a law onto himself and his mouth is as bad as that of the dentist with the bad mouth. His actions are second only to the now discarded Mervyn Silva.

In our miracle of Asia, politicians or their siblings and children continue to become street fighters and thugs causing huge damage to democratic polity. President Sirisena’s siblings too are no exception. A peasant murdered one of Sirisena’s brothers for sleeping with his wife, and another it is claimed has become a law unto himself in Nuwara Eliya, filling up the racecourse with debris from his luxury real estate construction project. Another sibling, the head of Telecom too has been exposed in social and alternate media. Wonder what the other eight are up to?

We had a Chief Minister from Gampaha who demanded a bribe of 50 million, and the one from whom the bribe was demanded has been told in no uncertain terms, (with the choicest words from the Sinhala vocabulary) as to what would happen to him if the full amount in bribes were not paid. This telephone conversation was recorded and made available to the relevant authorities, and sweet nothing has happened under Yahapalanaya, even after complaints were made to the highest echelons of government. We had also Yahapalanaya stalwart Arjuna Ranatunga appointing his sibling as the Chairman of the Sri Lanka ports authority. Arjuna Ranatunga was one of the most vocal against the Rajapaksa nepotism on election platforms in the run up to the January 2015 elections..

Nov 18, 2015

Customs Investigation Officials have revealed that Multiform Chemicals (Pvt) Ltd owned by Tilak Karunaratne, Politician and currently the Chairman of Securities and Exchange Commission has been violating the country’s Customs Laws by deliberately continuing to violate the Customs Laws of the country and depriving the Government of the much needed revenue.

Once an aggressive supporter of President Mahinda Rajapaksa, Tilak Karunaratne became a vociferous critic as he was not appointed the organizer for Bandaragama. Although he was the Chairman of SEC then, he resigned saying that he has been intimidated by “the powers that be” to step down. At the time he deviously fabricated a story to the Media saying that it was the “Stock Market Mafia” which influenced President Rajapaksa to remove him.

This shocking revelation clearly exposes Tilak Karunaratne’s company Multiform Chemicals, which has been the agent of a French company called Roquette for 15 yaers, which manufactures plant based raw materials. Multiform has been through years, importing food grade corn starch from the said company and supplying the same to reputed companies like Hemas, Unilever, State Pharmaceuticals etc. as a food and pharmaceutical raw material. However, in paying duty for the importation, Tilak Karunaratne and his company has knowingly and fraudulently continued to declare that he was importing these shipments on the basis of an industrial grade corn starch, which he was supplying to certain textile companies in the country for yarn sizing.

It is very important to note the difference in duty between food grade corn starch and industrial grade corn starch, which is 25% and 10% respectively. This manipulation of HS codes is a gross violation of the country’s customs duty regulations and amounts to defrauding the Government of Sri Lanka of revenue. Considering the longevity and frequency of Tilak Karunaratne’s shipments, a fraud amounting to approx. Rs.450 Million has been established by Customs officials.

The real reason why Dhammika Perera, Head of Investigations of SEC has been suddenly sent on compulsory leave by Tilak Karunaratne (as reported in the Sunday Times of 15th November), is directly related to this expose, sources at SEC divulge. An anonymous letter exposing details of Tilak Karunaratne’s duplicity and fraudulent ways have reached SEC senior officials and it is said that Dhammika Perera was very interested in investigating the veracity of the accusations. So in a bid to prevent an investigation on his personal integrity and the consideration of his suitability to continue to head one of the main financial institutions of the country, Tilak Karunaratne has removed Dhammike Perera, in a desperate attempt to derail the upcoming investigations.

Top Israeli officials face arrest in Spain, South Africa

Palestinians in Gaza commemorate the fifth anniversary of the Mavi Marmara massacre when 10 Turkish activists were shot dead by Israeli forces in international waters.

Ashraf AmraAPA images

Charlotte Silver-17 November 2015

Over the last week 11 Israeli officials have had international arrest warrants against them circulated for their role in the deadly raid on a Turkish ship that was part of the Freedom Flotilla en route to Gaza in May 2010.

Top Israeli Officials Face Arrest in Spain, South Africa by Thavam Ratna

LGBT Gains in Ukraine Are in Danger

Ukraine just passed some surprisingly progressive LGBT protections — but they might not last longer than a few weeks.

BY MATTHEW SCHAAF-NOVEMBER 17, 2015

LGBT rights have long been a contentious issue in the countries of the former Soviet Union, where homosexuality was a crime until the early 1990s. Despite the best efforts of a dedicated minority of LGBT activists and their supporters, lawmakers in Russia are considering a ban on public displays of LGBT identity. In Kyrgyzstan, leaders are considering a law that could send anyone to jail for so-called propaganda of non-traditional sexual relations.

LGBT Gains in Ukraine Are in Danger by Thavam Ratna

Suspected architect of Paris attacks is dead, according to two senior intelligence officials

Gunfire broke out in the northern Paris suburb of Saint-Denis early on Nov. 18 as police pursued suspects from the terror attacks on Nov. 13. Witnesses documented the flood of police into the historic suburb as the raid grew. (Jenny Starrs/The Washington Post)

By Anthony Faiola, Missy Ryan and Souad Mekhennet-November 18

Authorities say as many as 20 people may have been involved in the plot to attack Paris. Here's what we know about them so far. (Gillian Brockell/The Washington Post)

Suspected Architect of Paris Attacks is Dead, According to Two Senior Intelligence Officials by Thavam Ratna

Non-French War Deaths Matter

by DAVID SWANSON-NOVEMBER 13, 2015

We are all France. Apparently. Though we are never all Lebanon or Syria or Iraq for some reason. Or a long, long list of additional places.

We are led to believe that U.S. wars are not tolerated and cheered because of the color or culture of the people being bombed and occupied. But let a relatively tiny number of people be murdered in a white, Christian, Western-European land, with a pro-war government, and suddenly sympathy is the order of the day.

“This is not just an attack on the French people, it is an attack on human decency and all things that we hold dear,” says U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham. I’m not sure I hold ALL the same things dear as the senator, but for the most part I think he’s exactly right and that sympathy damn well ought to be the order of the day following a horrific mass killing in France.

I just think the same should apply to everywhere else on earth as well. The majority of deaths in all recent wars are civilian. The majority of civilians are not hard to sympathize with once superficial barriers are overcome. Yet, the U.S. media never seems to declare deaths in Yemen or Pakistan or Palestine to be attacks on our common humanity.

I included “pro-war government” as a qualification above, because I can recall a time, way back in 2003, when I was the one shouting “We are all France,” and pro-war advocates in the United States were demonizing France for its refusal to support a looming and guaranteed to be catastrophic and counterproductive U.S. war. France sympathized with U.S. deaths on 911, but counseled sanity, decency, and honesty in response. The U.S. told France to go to hell and renamed french fries in Congressional office buildings.

Now, 14 years into a global war on terror that reliably produces more terror, France is an enthusiastic invader, plunderer, bomber, and propagator of hateful bigotry. France also sells billions of dollars of weaponry to lovely little bastions of equality and liberty like Saudi Arabia, carefully ignoring Saudis’ funding of anti-Western terrorist groups.

When U.S. militarism failed to prevent 911, I actually thought that would mean reduced militarism. When a Russian plane was recently blown up, I think I imagined for a split second that Russia would learn its lesson and stop repeating U.S. mistakes. When people were just killed in France, I didn’t have any time to fantasize about France coming to its senses, because a “socialist” president was already doing his Dubya-on-the-rubble imitation:

“To all those who have seen these awful things,” said François Hollande, “I want to say we are going to lead a war which will be pitiless. Because when terrorists are capable of committing such atrocities they must be certain that they are facing a determined France, a united France, a France that is together and does not let itself be moved, even if today we express infinite sorrow.”

The video doesn’t look like Bush, and the French word combat does not necessarily mean war just because the Washington Post says it does. It can mean fight in some other sense. But what other sense exactly, I’m not sure. Prosecuting anyone responsible would of course make perfect sense, but a criminal justice system ought not to be pitiless. It’s a war that ought to be pitiless. And it’s a war that will guarantee more attacks. And it’s a war that France has begun.

“It is the job of thinking people, not to be on the side of the executioners,” said Albert Camus.

Please go back to thinking, France.

We do love you and wish you well and are deeply sorry for U.S. influence against your better tendencies.

David Swanson wants you to declare peace at http://WorldBeyondWar.org His new book isWar No More: The Case for Abolition.

Iran and Hezbollah controlling Assad's army, say Syrian army defectors

Former Syrian soldiers say Iran and Hezbollah, backed by Shia militias, make up vast majority of fighting troops

Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei with IRGC commander Qassem Suleimani (AFP)

Wednesday 18 November 2015

Iranian and Lebanese forces are in de facto control of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s army, according to former Syrian soldiers.

Khaled al-Shami told Middle East Eye columnist Lara Nelson that foreign militias have overrun the Syrian army.

“One important thing to realise is that there is no Syrian army anymore, it is just militias, mostly Iranians and Lebanese,” he told Nelson, in a column published on Wednesday.

Shami defected from Assad’s troops to join the Syrian opposition in July. He was a soldier in the ninth armoured division and served in southern Syria, where President Assad’s forces are battling a coalition of rebel groups.

Now living in Jordan, Shami said that 70 percent of troops in the ninth armoured division are either Lebanese or Iranian.

Iran and Lebanese militia Hezbollah – along with Russia – have been key backers of President Assad in his war against rebels groups seeking his overthrow.

Iranian officials have repeatedly claimed that they have only provided military advisors to President Assad, not troops on the ground.

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has defended his country’s role in Syria, saying that Iran is attempting to facilitate a process to allow Syrians self-determination without outside interference.

However, recent reports suggest that thousands of Iranians have joined a major offensive in northern Syria to reclaim territory from rebel groups.

Hezbollah is open about its military support for President Assad, and have said it is pre-emptively striking groups including the Islamic State to stop them gaining a foothold in Lebanon.

Hezbollah is listed as a terrorist group by the United States and European Union but Russia said on Sunday that they consider the group, which has elected parliamentarians in Lebanon, a “legitimate socio-political force”.

Former Syrian soldier Shami said his experience in the army suggested Iran and Hezbollah are not playing a supporting role, and instead are controlling President Assad’s forces.

“The Iranians and Hezbollah are not under the control of the Syrian army, it’s the exact opposite,” he said.

“Ten high-ranking Iranian officers control the [ninth armoured] division, they plan the operations. Only Iranian or Hezbollah forces can access operations rooms, no Syrian soldiers are allowed in.”

Shami said that in battles “the commander is an Iranian IRGC (Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps), his deputy will be a Hezbollah officer.”

Abu Osama al-Jolani, a Free Syrian Army commander and former Syriian army officer, told Nelson: “Everyone we are fighting now are foreigners.”

Another Syrian army officer who had defected told Nelson that Syrians in President Assad’s army are treated poorly compared with Iranians and Lebanese.

“Even the civilian Lebanese militia have the power to tell a Syrian general what to do, to send him back to his office,” the soldier, who asked to remain anonymous, said. “They have better food than us, better weapons, and more respect.”

“These militia believe they are there to defend Syria when the regular army has failed so they treat us as failures with no respect.”

Shami claimed that he was paid $60 a month in the army and that Hezbollah fighters are paid $400. He said he watched as two other would-be defectors were killed by Syrian soldiers as they tried to make an escape.

He said the Iranian and Hezbollah forces, supplemented by various Shia militias mostly from Iraq, have “occupied” Sunni mosques in areas under their control and put up posters of the late Iranian Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini and Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah.

Speaking to Middle East Eye from Amman, Shami thanked the Free Syrian Army “for their help to rescue my life and helping me with my defection and helping me to be on the right side”.

President Assad’s forces were bolstered recently by Russia’s intervention on his behalf, which was reportedly prompted by the Syrian army’s plunging resources.

The Guardian reported in October that Syria’s army now has between 80,000 and 100,000 soldiers, down from a pre-2011 high of 300,000.

Western nations have longed called for the removal of Assad. However, after recent IS attacks in Paris killed 129 people, prominent figures have decided to back the beleaguered Syrian president.

Former British army chief Sir David Richards said on Wednesday that Assad represented the “most credible” force on the ground to fight IS.

Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Garcia-Margallo has also said that Assad represents a “lesser evil” than IS and called for cooperation with Damascus against IS.

More than 250,000 people have been killed in Syria’s civil war, which began in mid-2011 after President Assad brutally put down protests calling for democratic reforms.

Members of the international community met in Austria recently to try and find an agreed end to the civil war, although no Syrians were present at the talks.

The International Syria Support Group, which includes the UN, EU, US and others, announced a proposal to implement an immediate ceasefire and hold elections within 18 months. However, Syrian oppositions groups denounced the plan as “nothing more than talk”.