Muslims reject outright call for a Muslim Province

Mr. Dawood-Basheer Segu

by Latheef Farook  :  February 27, 2016

“Dismissed with outright contempt”. This was the common response of Muslims all over to Sri Lanka Muslim Congress Chairman Basheer Segu Dawood’s demand for a separate Muslim Province.

During a discussion on the proposed constitution in Kattankudy on Saturday 20 February 2016 Segu Dawood had said Muslims cannot give up their demand for a separate Muslim Province.  

As rightly pointed out by former Information Minister Imthiaz Bakeer Markar in a television interview this was a totally outdated and unwanted demand irrelevant in the current highly communalized political environment.

The government is taking numerous measures to bring about some degree of harmony among communities in the country. People in general welcome these measures. At a time like this Segu Dawood who started his political career with EROS before joining SLMC coming out with a demand for separate Muslim Province     is suicidal for the Muslims living scattered all over the island. 

 Muslims all over the island were furious. They were swift in their condemnation as such a demand in the current political environment could only fuel the ongoing racist campaign against Muslims.

Memories were still fresh in the minds of Muslims who were brutalized by defeated president Mahinda Rajapakse regime which ruthlessly employed racist elements to unleash well organized violence against Muslims.  Segu Dawood was an integral part of this very same Rajapaksa regime which persecuted Muslims.  The question is why didn’t he raise this issue when was with Rajapaksa regime?

Slamming Segu Dawood over Muslim Province demand  SLMC’s founder   M.H.M Ashraff’s son Aman  said  that his father’s mandate was solely for a united Sri Lanka, undivided by any means. He  added that; 

 Mr. Dawood had said that the SLMC’s stance was that the Muslims need a separate Province and the SLMC late founder too had endorsed it. In a letter wrote direct to Segu Dawood Aman requested Segu Dawood not to distort historical facts for his personal benefit.

“During the early course of his political voyage, Mr. Ashraff said if and only if, the Tamils of Sri Lanka were granted a separate state,then it is only fair that the Muslims of Sri Lanka also be granted one as well. However, his political views had changed over time.

 Addressing a gathering of the SLMC High Command and Politburo members at the Taj Samudra Hotel late Ashraf stated that "As a party representing a minority in this country, we have reached the limits of our abilities. If we are to serve the nation and its people at a greater degree, we must then, look to expand our horizons into national politics and aim to define a role for ourselves within. Thus, he began to devote his career and time exclusively towards the formation of the National Unity Alliance (NUA) a pluralistic political entity whose mandate was solely for a UNITED Sri Lanka, undivided by any means.

You know this well, because you were one of the few who did not agree with this new and rapidly evolving political vision of Late  Ashraff, which is why he did not appoint you to the High Command of the NUA. He was well aware that you lacked the political maturity then (and still do now) to realize that a divided nation will forever be a defeated nation,” thus   concluded Aman.

I was flooded with phone calls and e mails by both individuals and organizations alike ever since this report appeared in the local media expressing alarm at the demand. Here are their serious concerns.

One pointed out that Muslim politicians especially from North and East should stop talking of Islam and Muslims as they had brought enough disrepute to Islam and Muslims by their immoral and wheeler dealer politics for personal benefits.

One should not forget that the Muslim community en masse voted for President Maithripala Sirisena in the 8 January 2015 presidential elections on their own and on the advice of any politician.

 Muslim community had paid a heavy price for SLMC’s corrupt politics. Ridiculous state of affairs is such that SLMC which came with the slogan of Islam and Unity is divided into more than half a dozen groups. So much so   the SLMC leader was dispatched as salesman this month by Prime Minister Ranil Wickremsinghe to Turkey to promote Sri Lankan tea.

Under the circumstance beleaguered Muslim community cannot allow politicians like Segu Dawood   to continue their out dated proposals which has all the ingredients to damage relations between Sinhalese and Muslims.  Over the years today the  SLMC is a discredited party and SLMC  politicians managed to get into the government only due to a deal with the United National Party to enjoy positions and perks and not to serve the community .

In a letter to Bahseer Segu Dawood one Muslims said “you are frustrated person as you were not being nominated through national list by your leader Rauf Hakeem.  Separate Muslim province for what? Create more corrupt Muslim politicians? he asked.

Tamils Dispute Government’s Claim About Tamil Buddhists in Lanka

By P.K.Balachandran

COLOMBO: Tamils are disputing the Sri Lankan government’s claim that there are 22, 254 Tamil Buddhists in the country.

Most Tamils feel that this is a gross exaggeration. The Minister of National Dialogue, Mano Ganeshan, told Express, that the claim might have been made “for propaganda purposes”, to show the dominant Sinhalese-Buddhists that significant inroads have already been made into the largely Hindu Tamil minority.      

But the government’s claim is based on the 2012 census, says Mass Media Minister Gayantha Karunartilleke. He told parliament earlier this week, that there are 22,254 Tamil Buddhists in the island, 11 of whom are monks. The Tamil-majority Northern Province itself has 470 Tamil Buddhists. Karunatilleke further said that government plans to reopen a Buddhist religious school in Jaffna which was functioning till 2013 with 80 students.

The President of the Jaffna Tamil Buddhist Association, Ravikumar, confirmed that his association has 470 members. According to him, the bulk of the Tamil Buddhists are in the plantations of the Southern Sinhalese- majority province of Uva. 

“Many of the Indian Origin Tamil plantation workers in Uva are Dalits. They became Buddhist because of  India’s Dalit leader, B.R.Ambedkar,” Ravikumar told Express. He denied proselytism by local Sinhalese Buddhists. “The plantation workers get no benefit from conversion to Buddhism,” he pointed out.

But historian Prof.S.Pathmanathan ruled out the caste factor in conversion in the plantations. “Most of the plantation workers are Dalits, and yet, the overwhelming majority are still Hindus,” he said. 

Indian Origin Tamil leader V.Puthirasigamani felt that visiting Buddhist temples might have been mistaken as “conversion”. He pointed out that in Lanka, Sinhalese Buddhists worship at Hindu temples and Hindus visit Buddhist Viharas without ever changing their faith.

The Jaffna Buddhist Association President Ravi Kumar himself admitted that  many Tamils attend his programs not because they are Buddhists, but because they love Tamil literature which, in the past, was closely associated with Buddhism. The epics Manimekalai (6 th.Century AD) and Silapadikaram had Buddhist roots.

According to Prof.Pathmanathan, Tamil monks Buddhadutta (5th century AD) and Dharmapala had contributed immensely to Lankan Buddhism before Tamil Buddhism was absorbed by Hinduism around the 14 th.Century.

Jaffna University Imposes Code Of Ethics: Bans Beards, Denims, T-shirts

26/02/2016

University of Jaffna’s administration and Senate decided to implement a code of ethics for the university students and staff.

Accordingly, the following instructions have been given by the university authorities.

* Wearing denims and T-shirts are banned during the lectures.

* Every Fridays women should wear sari.

* Students and Academic staff are not permitted in the class rooms if they have beard.

It was not clear if this was applicable to all students, including Muslim males, who usually wear beards, one commentator said on Facebook.

Convener of the Inter Students Union T. Sasidaran said the rights of students would be curtailed due to this code of ethics.

Student Unions say that the freedom and privacy of students would be affected by the move and add that they will raise the issue with the administration. If the authorities do not heed to their protests, the students will have to fight for their rights, he also said.

However, Jaffna University Art Faculty Dean S. Gnanakumaran said that the code of ethics was imposed after considering moral traditions and will be applied after discussions with student unions.
Asian Mirror

Even President Sirisena has not seen the ETCA draft - Dr. Padeniya

February 25, 2016, 9:19 pm 

The Government Medical Officers’ Association (GMOA) has spearheaded opposition to the proposed Economic and Technological Cooperation Agreement (ETCA) with India. This opposition was based on the information that the government had communicated to the GMOA about the proposed agreement. Politicians at all levels parliamentarians, political party leaders, and even the cabinet appear to have been kept completely in the dark about this agreement a draft of which had been secretly sent around to selected trade associations on condition of maintaining secrecy. It was the GMOA that blew the whistle on the whole process by publishing on their website the draft of the proposed ETCA with India. In this interview, C. A. Chandraprema speaks to Dr. Anuruddha Padeniya, President of the GMOA about the proposed agreement and the preparations being made to commence an Indian ambulance and pre-hospitalisation care service in Sri Lanka.

Q. The press reported the Prime Minister as having said during his tour of Hambantota that the GMOA had published a false copy of ETCA on their website. The government was keeping the draft of the ETCA with India a closely guarded secret and it is from the GMOA website that we all obtained a copy of the draft. So it is important to establish the authenticity of that document. Was it Minister Malik Samarawickrema who gave you that copy of the ETCA draft?

A. We have to be thankful to Minister Malik Samarawickrema. Before he came into the picture, all our meetings were with officials of the Trade Ministry and none of them gave us a proper set of documents. We got documents in a very unacceptable manner without signatures. Some of the documents that we got through the OPA were ones that Sri Lankan delegates at conferences had obtained from their Indian counterparts. For the first time we got a proper set of documents (which have not been finalised yet) from Mr Malik Samarawickrema. He also gave us a copy of a speech made by the Prime Minister on this matter and we uploaded both on our website and circulated them to our members. The draft of the ETCA with India was emailed to us by Mr Samarawickrema’s ministry. This is not a final document because they have invited the GMOA and other professional groups for another round of discussions. This document was emailed to us to initiate a dialogue. 

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SriLankan Airlines’ Fraud Confirmed: Union President Adrian Cramer

February 26, 2016

The President of the Flight Attendants Union Adrian Cramer confirmed the ongoing EPF/ETF and Tax fraud committed by his employer SriLankan Airlines.

Replying a letter sent in by Capt. Renuke Senanayake of the the Airline Pilots Guild of Sri Lanka, Cramer in a harshly worded letter, went on to even state the chapters of the EPF and ETF Act that the airline has been fraudulently violating.

Cramer

Whilst claiming to be the elected president of the Flight Attendants Union, Cramer stated that his intention was only to protect the airline by highlighting this on going fraud.

Meanwhile Colombo Telegraph reliably learns that a prominent member of the FAU’s Ex-Co is on the verge of quitting the union.

It has been brought to light that he himself had submitted fraudulent personal information to the airline at the time of his recruitment.

We publish below the FAU President Adrian Cramer’s reply to APGSL President Capt.Renuke Senanayake in full.

Capt. Renuke Senanayake AFAU / 47
President – ALPGSL

Dear Mr. Senanayake
Your Communication dated 20th & 21st February 2016 and publication of same on Tabloid Press 
Your above communication has been received with equal disapproval and abhorrence and you will find herein my response on behalf of the entirety of the FAU membership over which I have been elected to preside, limiting my comments to only the very few matters of fact that warrant any reply; leaving the larger remainder of its content which is simply abuse and verbiage in the corner of the gutter from where it emanated.
On the aspect of EPF and ETF payments on meal allowances I suggest that you subject your mental faculties and attempt to digest (if you can) section 47 of the EPF Act and section 44 of the ETF Act and see if you can comprehend the interpretation afforded in plain English language to the meaning of “Earnings”; this should hopefully answer your question as to why we as a responsible and duty conscious union of this Air Line and this Republic saw it fit to ensure that “our Beloved Airline” (as you referred to it) will not be found fault with for violating the laws of this land by which we are all meant to be governed.

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Muslims and their insular mindset

2016-02-26

Ask even an educated Sri Lankan Muslim woman in a black Abaya about Wahabism or Salafism. Most probably she would know nothing.

Following reports that some 36 Sri Lankans had travelled to Syria out of whom some had joined the dreaded Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant or Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS); Fears had been expressed that many more Sri Lankans might team up with the terror group, that had vowed to bring several countries under its rule which they call Khilafath.

However, with the way some journalists and certain anti-Muslim groups in Sri Lanka had tried to blow up the issue, it seems that under the guise of expressing fear, they are in fact, jubilant in finding an issue that can be used as a wedge between the Muslims and other communities, especially the majority Sinhalese in the country. 

They would be happier than Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the leader of the ISIS if another batch from Sri Lanka left the shores to join the Khilafath struggle, the ruthlessness of which is in fact a slur on Islam. 

There seem to be genuine concerns as well, such as last week’s “open letter” to the Sri Lankan Muslims written by Dr. Ranga Kalansuriya and published in the .

The intermittent and isolated clashes between various Sri Lankan Muslim groups over religious issues and the Muslim women’s garments such as the Abaya (A robe-like dress), Burqa (Face veil) and Niqab (Face veil without covering the eyes) that have been spread during the past three decades are the main concerns and signs of possible break out of “Islamic terrorism” in Sri Lanka for many, who had expressed fear genuinely as well as imaginatively.

For instance, an article carried in a website recently had stated that “Islamic Fundamentalism” had crept into a leading Muslim Girls’ School in Colombo and that it was evident with many girls in the school wearing the face veil.                      

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Illicit drugs and schoolchildren: Immediate need for effective corrective action - I

by Chandra Wickramasinghe-February 25, 2016

(Former Council Member of the National Dangerous Drugs Control Board)

It is common knowledge that certain illicit hallucinogenic drugs like ‘Ecstasy’ are being used by young people belonging to the upper classes at fashionable house parties, perhaps unbeknown to their high society parents. There were also a few newspaper reports about children attending tuition classes being introduced to such drugs. However, it was indeed shocking to read newspaper reports a couple of days ago, about a school boy smuggling heroin in his underwear and distributing it to his schoolmates! This is indeed a frightening indication that the clandestine, illicit networks are getting organized to capture a potentially lucrative market represented by schoolchildren country wide. Heroin, as readers may know, is the most dangerous and harmful in the range of illicit drugs available in Sri Lanka, as it is highly addictive and makes its victims totally and helplessly dependent on the drug.

It is indeed sad if not tragic, that despite the corrosive and devastating social effects of illicit drugs, successive administrations have not had the required political resolve and the unswerving commitment (with all the solemn pledges and hard resolutions made), to launch a sustained frontal onslaught on the organized purveyors of these illicit substances whose horrific impact is increasingly felt on the physical as well as the economic well being of the people of this country. Newspapers carry reports regularly of traffickers of heroin being nabbed and charged. The punishment laid down in the law for such offenders, is death! One often wonders what happens to the innumerable small time drug dealers who are charged in Court for being in possession of heroin. Are they being kept in remand prison over extended periods till their cases are finalised? About ten years ago around 55 per cent of the inmates in Remand Prison were being held for drug related offences. By now, if all the nabbed offenders have been incarcerated, the Remand Prisons must be overflowing with such offenders with many awaiting trial, knowing well the laws inordinate delays!

It was made out that the apprehension of notorious drug dealer Wele Suda would deal a body blow to the illicit drug trade here as he was reputedly a king pin in these illicit drug operations. It was also reported the he had given a list of thirty two names of powerful and influential people, which had included a fair number of MPP and even Ministers! It was also triumphantly claimed that the concerned authorities were in possession of the said list! However, this much awaited list never saw the light of day! But speculation was rife as to who and who were in the list. This sordid episode sheds a lot of light on the highly selective manner in which law enforcement operates in the island.

 Read More 

The Hidden Truth Behind CSN’s Money Laundering

By Ulapane Sumangala Thero –February 26, 2016

Ulapane Sumangala Thero – Chairman of the Anti-Corruption Front

Is this the result of practicing politics of hate or of politics of revenge?

The answer that is required to be sought in this regard in the first place is whether the CSN channel was started in order to fulfill the role of a media organization or for the purposes of money laundering.

The shortest answer that can be given in this regard is something that needs to be asked from the heads of the CSN channel, in that for the past year having spent an investment in excess of Rs 200 million to implement the project, where is the profit and loss/income statement pertaining to in this endeavor? What are the rewards afforded to those like Ashan Fernando who invested Rs 5 million, Gadiya Karunajeewa who invested Rs 1 million and Kavishan Dissanayake who invested Rs 1 million, whilst being members of the director board.

What is revealed from the CSN company reports is that they were tycoons who received no profit or economic benefit when compared to the investments they made to the CSN company, and therefore that it could be inferred that they made these investments to contribute to a worthy cause and that their expectations were for the benefit and furthering of sports in Sri Lanka.

Therefore, let us for a moment pay attention to their economic and financial backgrounds.

Yoshitha Rajapaksa

Ashan Fernando by profession is a doctor. He works as a doctor in the blood bank of the Mannar Hospital. He received his education at S. Thomas’ College, Mount Lavinia and was in the same class as Yoshitha Rajapaksa, who is a close friend of his. Ashan’s father is Amarapala Fernando, who is an attorney-at-law who does not make court appearances. Amarapala Fernando is a director of the Nachuran Group. Ashan Fernando states that the amount given by his father had been invested in the CSN business.

Kavishan Dissanayake is the brother of one of Yoshitha Rajapaksa’s friends. His stance is that he had invested Rs 1 million after obtaining Rs 250,000 from his mother, Chulanthi Fernando, a loan of Rs 250,000 from his uncle, Channa Wijemanne, and another loan of Rs 500,000 from another one of his uncles, Priyantha Wijemanne. What is surprising is that these individuals had made no attempt to pay back the loans or attempted to obtain annual dividends from the CSN channel.

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The hidden truth behind the Carlton Sport Network’s (CSN) money laundering By Chairman of the Anti-Corruption Front, Ven. Ulapone Sumangala Thero

Is this the result of practicing politics of hate or of politics of revenge?

(Lanka-e-News -26.Feb.2016, 10.30) The answer that is required to be sought in this regard in the first place is whether the CSN channel was started in order to fulfill the role of a media organization or for the purposes of money laundering.

The shortest answer that can be given in this regard is something that needs to be asked from the heads of the CSN channel, in that for the past year having spent an investment in excess of Rs 200 million to implement the project, where is the profit and loss/income statement pertaining to this endeavour? What are the rewards afforded to those like Ashan Fernando who invested Rs 5 million, Gadiya Karunajeewa who invested Rs 1 million and Kavishan Dissanayake who invested Rs 1 million, whilst being members of the director board.

What is revealed from the CSN company reports is that they were tycoons who received no profit or economic benefit when compared to the investments they made to the CSN company, and therefore that it could be inferred that they made these investments to contribute to a worthy cause and that their expectations were for the benefit and furthering of sports in Sri Lanka.

Therefore, let us for a moment pay attention to their economic and financial backgrounds.

Ashan Fernando by profession is a doctor. He works as a doctor in the blood bank of the Mannar Hospital. He received his education at St. Thomas’ College, Mount Lavinia, and was in the same class as Yoshitha Rajapaksa, who is a close friend of his. Ashan’s father is Amarapala Fernando, who is an attorney-at-law who does not make court appearances. Amarapala Fernando is a director of the Nachuran Group. Ashan Fernando states that the amount given by his father had been invested in the CSN business.

Kavishan Dissanayake is the brother of one of Yoshitha Rajapaksa’s friends. His stance is that he had invested Rs 1 million after obtaining Rs 250,000 from his mother, Chulanthi Fernando, a loan of Rs 250,000 from his uncle, Channa Wijemanne, and another loan of Rs 500,000 from another one of his uncles, Priyantha Wijemanne. What is surprising is that these individuals had made no attempt to pay back the loans or attempted to obtain annual dividends from the CSN channel.

Read more >>

Police excavate land linked to Mahinda’s security chief

February 26, 2016

Police teams today searched a block of land allegedly belonging to the wife of Major Neville Wanniarachchi, who was former President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s chief security officer.

Speaking to Ada Derana, Wanniarachchi said that excavations were carried out using backhoes near a cemetery where his wife’s father has been laid to rest in Attanayala, Weeraketiya.

The excavations were carried out under the security of Police Special Task Force (STF) personnel and police officers at around 10.00am this morning, Ada Derana reporter said.

According to police sources, the excavations were carried out for the purpose of unearthing gold and currency suspected to have been buried at the property. 

Two big holes were dug up at the location by 3.00pm today, however none of the aforementioned valuables were found inside any of them, sources disclosed. 

Ada Derana reporter said that the excavating halted by around 4.00pm at the land which had been used for coconut cultivation. He said that several residents of the area had gathered near the location to witness the digging.

It is reported that the digging was carried out according to a court order obtained by the Police Financial Crimes Investigations Division (FCID).

Yahapalanaya Wants To Enjoy The Luxury VIP Plane Kit Ordered By Rajapaksa: MR Media Unit

February 26, 2016

Former President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s media unit accused the Yahapalanaya leaders of wanting to enjoy themselves the luxury VIP kit that Rajapaksa was to receive as “a complimentary gift” from Airbus Industries, and hence were coming up with all sorts of lies such as they cannot reverse the order made for the VIP kit.

SriLankan Airlines under the Rajapaksas placed orders for 12 air craft with Airbus Industrie consisting of six A 330 and six A 350 in a major re fleeting exercise, one of which was to be fitted in a tailor made fashion for former President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s use. The A330 was to be fitted like the Air Force 1 used by the President of USA costing millions of dollars. The fitting necessitates gear to be fitted permanently to the front end of the aircraft which would add at least one tonne in weight even when other interior fittings are taken off when in use for commercial transport. The added weight would inflate the cost per flown mile in addition to lesser yields for the troubled airline.

In a statement issued by Rajapaksa’s media unit in response to Parliamentarian Ranjan Ramanayake’s statement where he claimed that the former president had ordered a luxury cubicle worth four million US Dollars to be fixed onto aircraft used by Rajapaksa, and because of the agreement that has been signed, President Sirisena was unable to reverse the order.

“During the last presidential election campaign, President Rajapaksa was falsely accused of having ordered a private plane for himself. Now they say fairly truthfully, that this was only a kit to convert a part of an ordinary airliner into a luxury cubicle. These are VIP conversion kits which can be installed after removing several seats in commercial airliners and are supplied free as a complimentary accessory when new commercial passenger planes are ordered. Airbus Industries mentions a value for this conversion kit only to give the customer an idea of the value of the complimentary kit. The customer can’t ask for the money instead of the complimentary accessory,” the statement said.           Read More 

Sumanadasa reveals Mahinda's dealings & about Captain Tissa

FRIDAY, 26 FEBRUARY 2016
Mr. Sumanadasa Abeygunawardene, former  President Mahinda Rajapaksa's astrologer, has recently revealed several special tranascations carried out by Mr. Rajapaksa.

He revealed about Captain Tissa who was the driver for Shiranthi Rajapaksa and Mahinda Rajapaksa and had been involved in the murder of Wasim Thajudeen according to media and sorcery carried out in order to defeat Mr. Maithripala Sirisena.

This is revealed when the astrologer responds to a telephone call Minister Ranjan Ramanayaka takes to him at a media conference so that the journalists could hear the conversation.

Cecile’s jewelry to be auctioned

- Feb 26, 2016

Colombo chief magistrate Gihan Pilapitiya yesterday (25) ordered the CID to obtain an evaluation of the value of jewelry owned by Cecile Kotelawala, wife of former Ceylinco Group chairman Lalith Kotelawala.

The jewelry is at present being kept at a safety locker, and an evaluation of the jewelry’s worth is to be obtained from the National Gem and Jewelry Authority for submission to courts. The chief magistrate ordered that the jewelry be auctioned and the money used to compensate the affected depositors.

Cecile is in remand custody in connection with a defrauding of Rs. 4.3 million from depositors of F&G Property Developers of Ceylinco Group. Produced before courts by prison officers yesterday, Pilapitiya ordered that she be further remanded until March 09.

Palestinian hunger striker held by Israel ends protest - family

Posters of Palestinian journalist Mohammad al-Qiq, who was detained by Israel in November and was on a hunger strike to protest his detention without charge, are seen during a rally in support of him, in the West Bank city Ramallah February 26, 2016. REUTERS/Mohamad Torokman

People hold posters of Palestinian journalist Mohammad al-Qiq, who was detained by Israel in November and was on a hunger strike to protest his detention without charge, during a rally in support of him, in the West Bank city Ramallah February 26, 2016. REUTERS/Mohamad Torokman

RAMALLAH, WEST BANK- Fri Feb 26, 2016

A Palestinian journalist accused by Israel of being a Hamas activist and held without charge has agreed to end his three-month long hunger strike, his family and lawyers said on Friday.

Mohammad al-Qiq, who was detained by Israel in November, was being treated in a hospital in northern Israel when he ended his 94-day hunger strike.

Qiq's family and lawyers said he will remain in hospital to recover and will be freed at the end of his detention term on May 21 and it will not be renewed.

But the Israeli military said that after ending his protest, Qiq would remain in custody until May 21 when his status will be reviewed "to determine whether there is new information or security circumstances which require extending his detention."

Israel placed Qiq in what it calls "administrative detention", a practise that has roots in British mandate Palestine. It allows a prisoner to be held for up to 60 days without charge and without viewing evidence against him and can be extended with court approval.

The deal with Qiq appeared to be similar to that of previous cases where Israel agreed to release hunger strikers it has held without charge.

Last week, the United Nations, EU and rights groups expressed concern about Qiq, who refused any food or medical treatment, and denounced administrative detention.

Israel says detention without trial is essential in preventing further violence in cases where there is insufficient evidence to prosecute, or where going to court would risk exposing the identity of secret informants.

The Israeli Supreme Court said last week that Qiq was suspected of involvement in militant activity and contacts with Hamas operatives in Gaza.

"He is, in short, clearly a Hamas activist involved in militant terrorism," the court said after reviewing classified information.

Palestinian officials said the 33-year-old father of two, employed by Saudi-owned Al-Majd Television, was being hounded for political reasons. Israel has never produced specific charges against him.

Palestinian factions and officials hailed the deal reached on Friday as "a victory against Israel's administrative detention policy."

There are currently 600 Palestinians held in administrative detention, according to the Israeli Prison Service.

Earlier this month the Israeli Supreme court suspended Qiq's detention order saying that due to his medical condition he posed no imminent threat. But Qiq refused to end his hunger strike until the order was cancelled.

(Reporting by Ali Sawafta, and Nidal al-Mughrabi in Gaza; Writing by Ori Lewis; Editing by Toby Chopra and Dominic Evans)

Israel accused of 'assassinating' Palestinian exile in Bulgaria

Omar Zayed dies after being found injured at Palestinian embassy in Sofia, where he had been seeking refuge from extradition to Israel

Omar Zayed was violently killed, reports say (MEE/Diana Zayed) 

Friday 26 February 2016

An escaped Palestinian political prisoner has died after being found with fatal injuries on Friday inside the Palestinian embassy in Bulgaria, in what Palestinian officials have described as an Israeli “assassination”.

Omar Nayef Zayed sought refuge in the embassy in Sofia in mid-December after Israel demanded his extradition to serve out a life sentence for the murder of an Israeli settler in 1986.

The 52-year-old from Jenin in the occupied West Bank had been living in Bulgaria since 1994 following his escape from a Bethlehem hospital in 1990, where he had been receiving treatment for problems caused by a 40-day hunger strike against his sentence.

Zayed denies committing murder and had said that he was tortured into confessing by Israeli authorities. 

Israeli authorities had tried to have him returned to their custody under an extradition treaty agreed with the EU.

It was reported by the Jerusalem Post that in January that Bulgarian authorities had given Zayed three days to hand himself in.

Zayed refused to give himself up and continued to live in the Palestinian embassy, where he was discovered on Friday morning.

The Sofia News Agency reported that a Palestinian embassy official had said Zayed’s death had been caused by “violence”.

The Palestinian deputy foreign minister, Taysir Jaradat, told Maan News that embassy officials had found Zayed lying in the mission’s garden “covered in blood”. Zayed was “rushed to hospital but died en route”.

Zayed was a member of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP). The group condemned his killing and accused multiple agencies of being responsible for his death.

“We in the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine hold fully responsible for this nefarious crime the Zionist State and the Israeli Mossad who targeted Comrade Omar Nayef Zayed for assassination," the statement said.

"We hold responsible the Palestinian Authority and the Palestinian Embassy in Bulgaria who failed to protect him and his security, and the Bulgarian government and security forces who pursued Comrade Nayef Zayed for arrest and imprisonment for over three months.

“We note the full responsibility of the Palestinian Authority at the highest levels for failing to protect Comrade Nayef Zayed from assassination, up to and including PA President Mahmoud Abbas, Foreign Minister Riyad al-Maliki and Ambassador Ahmad al-Madbouh.”

Issa Qaraqe, the head of the Palestinian Committee for Prisoners’ Affairs, told Maan News that he believed Israeli security agency Mossad had killed him.

Qaraqe described the killing as an “act of international piracy” and the official demanded an “international investigation” into the incident. 

Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas has announced the formation of a special commission of enquiry to look into his death, according to the Palestinian news agency, Wafa.

There was no official Israeli comment but Israeli public radio quoted "a security source" as saying that "Israel has no interest in striking at an elderly terrorist, especially if it involves danger or committing resources".