‘Whether it is that government or this ,it is all the same to me’ Sajin Vaas brags when his office is raided –who is backing him now?

(Lanka-e-News- 13.May.2016, 3.45PM) Sajin Vaas Gunawardena the accomplished crook during the nefarious decade of corrupt Rajapakse era outrageously and most unlawfully misused a number of luxury vehicles which were imported for the  purposes of  the presidential secretariat. Gunawardena the culprit used these vehicles to boost the fleet of vehicles of an establishment of his own which was hiring out vehicles .

The  FCID conducted an investigation into this colossal fraud after the Rainbow revolution of 8 th January 2015, and  handed over the relevant files meticulously compiled following an exhaustive and successful investigation  to the Attorney General’s department  (AG). Strangely and shockingly ,  the AG’s department has still not filed a case against Sajin !

While the AG’s department is suffering from rigor mortis even while it is supposedly alive (rigor mortis as a rule sets in only after death), on the 10  th the FCID on the other hand which is fortunately alive and active unlike the AG’s department conducted a raid on an office of Sajin at Borella based on  a court order. The FCID was able to take into custody a number of computers , equipments and hard discs for investigation. This was in connection with another fraud allegedly committed by Gunawardena.

Meanwhile , despite these grave  multiple investigations into these monumental frauds of his draining away many millions of rupees of public funds,  Sajin has waxed boastful ‘ whether it is that  government or this , it is all the same to me.’ He had made this remark when he was at the ‘Maharaja palace’ restaurant , located in Colombo 07 , belonging to the most notorious casino magnate Ravi Wijeratne.

Lately , it is this Maharaja palace of Rajapakses’ Casino magnate  Ravi Wijeratne that has been made the venue to hold discussions and hatch conspiracies. The pro Rajapakse military officers , pro Rajapakse media coolies, pro Rajapakse parliamentarians , pro Rajapakse ex government officials , Rajapakse wheeler dealers and brokers assemble there to have their secret discussions.

Sajin Vaas who arrived at the Maharaja palace  some days ago along with his friends ,had tried to leave after gourmandizing without footing the bill. When the employee had told him to pay the bill, Sajin Vaas had arrogantly retorted ‘tell Ravi Wijeratne that it is Sajin Vaas who came, and even this government to me is  like the last government,’ and gone away. 

Even when the office of Sajin Vaas was laid siege to and goods were being taken into custody , Sajin had said ‘ to me whether it is that government or this , it is all the same.’ 

The people of good governance are therefore in amazement justifiably questioning ,how did  this crooked and corrupt scoundrel  who fattened under the nefarious decade become so gutty to make such high- falutin  remarks even when the government of good governance is now in power ? and is it not this   government that  waxed boastful before coming to power it will flush out   all the crooks and cronies of the Rajapakse brigand from the nooks and crannies and destroy them  ,irrespective of their status and no matter where they  are hidden?

The people are therefore rightly questioning , is Sajin Vaas  so high spirited, uncaring and gutty because he is having an assurance that like the previous investigation into his misuse of vehicles belonging to the presidential secretariat , this  probe too by the FCID into his grave perfidious activities will turn out to be a damp squib with the support of the AG’s department which is hit by rigor mortis ? That is, no cases will be filed against him by the AG’s department !

Though it was said , Sajin Vaas came out of remand custody because he became a crown witness , it was in connection with which case is unknown. As far as our knowledge goes , there is no case against Sajin in any court where he is a crown witness.

It is for the government of good governance to prove without any trace of doubt if it wishes to live up to its name and promises , that the boasts and brags of the notorious crook who cheated on precious  public  funds on a colossal scale are  true or false.
 

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by     (2016-05-13 10:22:36)

Bank accounts of owners of mysterious radio channel under probe!

May 13, 2016

The majority shareholder of Vist Broadcasting (Pvt.) Ltd. that was established under the Samagam Medura registration no. PV 63832 on 11 April 2008 by misusing a donation given by the Chinese government to the then Sri Lankan government in late 2007 is Vindya Rangani Hettiarachchi (daughter of Mahinda Rajapaksa’s younger sister, and sister of Himal Hettiarachchi), who is a resident of no. 175/2, Old Kottawa Road, Mirihana, Nugegoda.

Other directors of the channel were Nedigamuwa Lalith Pium Perera (ex-chairman of Youth Services Council), Kapila Gamini Samarasinghe Dissanayake and Kassapa Senarath Dissanayake. Secretary of the company was Devmin Chandranath Theminda Perera of no. 12, De Fonseka Road, Colombo 05.

 

The registered address of Vist Broadcasting was at Koswatte in Battaramulla, but its office was located at no. 17 A, Ocean Towers, Colombo 04.

 

Then then subject minister Anura Priyadarshana Yapa had given a temporary broadcasting license to this company.

 

The investor, Nilanga Indrajith Hettiarachchi initially agreed to invest Rs. 150 million, but he channeled only Rs. 24 million. The initial investment of Rs. 160 million was reportedly made by Rajapaksa brothers Namal and Yoshitha.

 

In August 2010, Lalith Pium Perera and Kapila Gamini Samarasinghe Dissanayake resigned as directors and Narendra Seelanatha joined the director board.

 

In November 2011, Vist Broadcasting merged with Carlton Sports Network (CSN). With that, Kassapa Senarath and Narendra Seelanatha left the director board.

 

Thereafter, Kavishan Dissanayake joined the director board. Nishantha Ranatunga was appointed CEO of the company and in 2012, Sinha FM and Red FM were launched.

 

In November 2012, Menaka Liyanage (son of Upali Liyanage, chairman of the National Lotteries Board during the Chandrika regime) joined as a director.

 

In March 2013, Vindya Rangani Hettiarachchi, the founding majority shareholder, left the director board. Then in September 2015, Menaka Liyanage and Kavishan Dissanayake resigned and Niranga and Sanka joined the director board.

 

Additionally, Dinesh Jayawardena (a relative of Ravi Karunanayake) and Dilini Karunajeewa (wife of Indika Karunajeewa) have served as non-executive directors. So did Sujani Bogollagama, a closest female friend of Namal.

 

Lalith Pium Perera and Narendra Seelanatha, who resigned as directors, gave statements to the FCID last Thursday and Friday.

 

The FCID summoned Dinesh Jayawardena and Menaka Liyanage to record statements, but powerful politicians had reportedly prevented that from taking place. The FCID has so far not been able to reach the wife of Indika Karunajeewa, who is now in Australia.

 

Namal is saying these days that Sujani and others had betrayed him. The FCID has obtained a court order and is investigating the bank accounts of members of the first director board. Once those details were submitted to courts, we will bring you a full report.

EQUAL GROUND HAS ‘NOTHING BUT PRIDE’ FOR SRI LANKA’S LGBT COMMUNITY

13/05/2016

Equal Ground is Sri Lanka’s organization seeking human and politial rights for the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Intersex and Questioning community. The organization has successfully organized Pride events for over a decade, with this year marking the 12th Colombo PRIDE. Annual Colombo PRIDE celebrations are held each year to “bring together the LGBTIQ community in one safe space to celebrate their diversity in an environment free of discrimination and prejudice.”

On their website, Equal Ground explains the importance and overall purpose of holding PRIDE celebrations, as well as the specific events that take place:

Equal Ground works very hard to provide for the needs of the community each year giving the LGBTIQ community of Sri Lanka the space to stand up tall and be proud of who and what they are. PRIDE in Sri Lanka is currently on a small scale and whilst we hope to one day march the streets demanding our rights, the current political climate4 coupled with the oppressive laws against LGBTIQ persons, impedes a peaceful march. therefore, PRIDE celebrations take place as private, yet very public functions attended by persons from all over Sri Lanka.

Each year, a diverse range of events are held to encourage the Queer community to come out and be proud. It is also an educational and sensitizing exercise where the message of diversity is addressed in a holistic way, paving for better understanding and acceptance of the Queer community by the larger Sri Lankan citizenship. Events include workshops, dramas/shows/musicals, film festivals, art & photo exhibitions, parties, a kite festival, and so on.

Since this year’s Colombo PRIDE celebrations were announced, disturbing articles and messages have been published online by hate groups that Equal Ground says are “threatening to derail progress towards ensuring equal rights for all persons regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity” and spread “derogatory and false information regarding the LGBTIQ community and Equal Ground.” One of these politically motivated groups known as “The Island Nation of Sinhale,” is notorious for spreading radical ideologies intended to sow animosity and incite discrimination, hostility and even violence against minorities. Equal Ground has also faced resistance from institutions such as the Colombo Municipal Council and Sri Lanka Police when attempting to obtain permission for events commemorating International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia, and Biphobia and Colombo PRIDE, with such institutions resorting to delay tactics to unreasonably withhold approvals for events without providing reasons for delays.

Despite the obstacles Equal Ground is faced with this year, the organization has stated that they will not be intimidated and will “proceed with the events planned for Colombo PRIDE 2016″ as they continue to fight for equal rights for every individual regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity.

Follow

EQUAL GROUND ‎@_EQUALGROUND_

In spite of all the dispicable threats to Colombo PRIDE 2016, we will still go ahead, with pride @CWEquality @LizBarkerLords

By Annette Covrigaru, Programs Intern |  glaad.org

SriLankan Airlines Refuses To Accept Flight Attendants Union’s Legitimacy

May 13, 2016

The management of SriLankan Airlines has yesterday decided not to accept nor deal with the current ‘Flight Attendants Union’ of its national carrier.

As Colombo Telegraph exposed earlier, it was not the Flight Attendants Union, but a group of ordinary Cabin Crew Members that the management of the national carrier had been dealing with over the last five months.

The pretentious group headed by Cabin Manager Adrian Cramer went on to sign official letters claiming to be the officially appointed Executive Committee of the FAU, sign and encash cheques and even scheduled meetings with various management officials of the airline.

This was despite them been forewarned by the former President of the FAU Sidath Dedigama, who vehemently protested and even went on to emphasize that their unlawful takeover at a sparsely attended Annual General Meeting, would be fundamentally illegal. This was as an election according to their own constitution was not held prior to their takeover.

Writing officially to Cabin Manager Adrian Cramer on the 11th May 2014, the Head of Human Resources of Sri Lankan Airlines Pradeepa Kekulawala stated that the airline’s management will no longer be dealing with them in any official capacity.

Despite Colombo Telegraph exposing this from the inception and publishing a series of articles on this topic, it took the Chairman of SriLankan Airlines Ajith Dias and CEO Capt. Suren Ratwatte almost five months to act based on the facts presented.

Further after the airline’s official intimation, a newsletter was inserted into all 1200 plus Flight Attendant lockers containing disparaging remarks about the Chairman Ajit Dias, CEO Capt.Suren Ratwatte, Head of Flight Operations Capt. Rajind Ranatunga and Head of Human Resources Pradeepa Kekulawala.

Read More

Yoshitha’s tearful confession while in remand custody

May 13, 2016

A few months ago, when Yoshitha Rajapaksa was being kept at remand prison at Welikada, he began crying loudly in the dead of one night. His fellow remand prisoners Nishantha Ranatunga, Rohan Weliwita and others surrounded him and tried to calm him down by saying, “Don’t cry, Yoshitha Malli. All of us will get together and get out of this. Whoever says anything, we know that we haven’t done anything wrong. Let us get out of this somehow.”

This made Yoshitha cry louder. “Why? Malli, do you have any other problem?” Weliwita asked him. Amidst tears, Yoshitha replied appealingly, “Aney, yes, Ayye. I have done many things on my own about which you don’t know. If all of those are revealed, I will have to spend the rest of my life in prison. Do not get out of this alone. Get me out too, somehow.”

 

Shocked by what Yoshitha said, all looked at each other for several minutes. Then, they let Yoshitha go to sleep and had discussed among themselves that they should get out by confessing all they know. Accordingly, everything they know will be revealed through the media. One such revelation that is being made by the media currently is about a mysterious radio channel that had got involved in money laundering.  More revelations will follow soon.

Shackled to a bed, starving for freedom

Budour Youssef Hassan-13 May 2016

Mahmoud Darwish — named after the great Palestinian poet — was hoping to celebrate his ninth birthday with his father, Sami Janazreh. Instead, he had to mark the day in a protest tent.

The tent was set up in Fawwar refugee camp, near Hebron, to support Janazreh, one of its residents, whose family originally hails from the ethnically cleansed village of Irak al-Manshiyeh. Imprisoned without charge or trial — under what Israel calls administrative detention — he has been on hunger strike since 3 March.

“Despite his young age, Mahmoud Darwish speaks as though he was a legal expert because of how closely he has been following his father’s case,” Rima Janazreh, Sami’s wife, told The Electronic Intifada. “Kids of his age are supposed to talk about sports or school but my son only talks about administrative detention and military trials.”

Sami Janazreh’s loved ones have, sadly, grown accustomed to being away from him. His stints in prison have totaled nine years.

During some of that time, he was held on charges relating to his involvement in the al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, the military wing of Fatah. At other times — like now — the Israeli authorities have refused to divulge if they have any evidence against him.

In the past few days, it was reported that Janazreh had suspended his hunger strike for a week.

However, his brother Kayed said that Sami had only agreed to take vitamins and liquids. That decision was taken after the Israeli high court postponed its review of a challenge mounted by Janazreh against his administrative detention.

“According to the international definition, the hunger strike continues as he still refuses to take solid food,” Kayed added.

Janazreh had stopped drinking water earlier this month in protest at being beaten while he was transferred from jail to Soroka, a hospital in the Naqab (Negev) region of present-day Israel.

Janazreh’s situation is not at all rare. Approximately 700 Palestinians were being held under administrative detention in March, according to Addameer, a prisoner rights group. That was more than twice the figure held around the time an uprising against the Israeli occupation erupted in October last.

Defiance amid doubts

Many Palestinian prisoners have undergone lengthy hunger strikes in the past few years. They include Khader Adnan, Hana al-Shalabi, Mahmoud Sarsak, Samer Issawi, Muhammad Allan and, most recently, the journalistMuhammad al-Qiq.

All of those hunger strikes ultimately succeeded in pressuring Israel into agreeing to release the prisoners in question.

However, doubts have also been expressed about the effectiveness of the tactic. A collective hunger strike by dozens of “administrative detainees” in 2014 failed to win concessions from Israel.

Undertaking his second hunger strike, Khader Adnan proved again last year that the tactic can get results. Adnan had previously been the first in a series of Palestinians to go on hunger strike in 2012.

He suggested that individual hunger strikes can make a greater impact than those by a group of prisoners.

“In the past, collective hunger strikes were used by Palestinian prisoners to demand tangible improvements in their conditions and the unity of the Palestinian political prisoners made such strikes possible,” Adnan told The Electronic Intifada.

“Solo hunger strikes, meanwhile, call for more radical demands such as release from jail or release from solitary confinement and as such they pose an enormous threat to the Israeli prison system.”

Adnan argued that hunger strikes are more powerful than trying to negotiate with the Israeli authorities.

They help draw attention to the injustices inherent in administrative detention and to the arbitrary nature of Israel’s policies.

While Israel has capitulated to the pressure exerted by hunger strikers on occasions, it has also used cruel methods to try and quell this form of resistance. They include passing a law enabling the force feeding of prisoners.

Divisions

One major hurdle that prisoners need to overcome is the political divisions affecting Palestinians both inside and outside Israel’s jails.

“The problem is not only the lack of media coverage [for hunger strikes],” Adnan said. “The biggest problem is that even prisoners from the same faction are divided. The divisions we see on the ground are reproduced behind bars and manifested in the lack of collective actions by prisoners. This leaves administrative detainees with no other option but to decide to go on hunger strike on their own.”

Janazreh’s case stands out in one important respect. Most of the hunger strikes in recent years were undertaken by prisoners affiliated to Islamic Jihad, Hamas or to left-wing groups. Janazreh is one of the very few prisoners linked to Fatah — the party in charge of the Palestinian Authority — to have employed the tactic.

“We received a phone call from the president [Mahmoud Abbas] and several high-ranking officials visited the tent in the camp to show their solidarity,” Kayed Janazreh, Sami’s brother, told The Electronic Intifada. “But we know that a statement here and there, or a few visits, are not sufficient.”

Kayed Janazreh was reluctant to criticize the Palestinian Authority, even though it has generally refused to support prisoners on hunger strike with any real vigor.

The Palestinian Authority’s intelligence forces cooperate with their Israeli counterparts in the interrogation of prisoners, and Israel has credited the PA with helping subdue the increased confrontation between Palestinians and occupation forces over the past several months.

While Khader Adnan argued that the Palestinian Authority has viewed recent hunger strikes as a threat to its legitimacy, Kayed Janazreh stressed that support for his brother has grown stronger in the past few weeks. Politicians representing Palestinians have been helpful, he added.

“Obviously we shouldn’t wait for two months until people take to the streets to show solidarity with a hunger striker,” he said. “But Sami’s defiance and insistence to go on will hopefully pay dividends.”

Meanwhile, Sami’s hands and feet are shackled to a hospital bed. He demanded that the shackles be removed when a visit from the International Committee of the Red Cross was scheduled.

He then refused to accept the visit because Israel would not remove the shackles, according to Rima, his wife.

None of Janazreh’s family members have been allowed to visit him in jail or in hospital since the beginning of his hunger strike. Rima applied for a visit permit through the Red Cross, but her request was turned down by the Israeli authorities.

Battle against system

Israel has been extremely obstinate in its denial of visiting rights to families of hunger strikers. Fayha Shalash, wife of Muhammad al-Qiq, was not granted a permit to visit her husband until a deal to end his strike had been reached.

Family members, particularly mothers and wives, have played pivotal roles in campaigning for their loved ones, shedding light on their hunger strikes, and mobilizing public support for them.

Muhammad Allan’s hunger strike would not have received as much attention as it did were it not for theresilience of his mother, Mazouza. She staged sit-in protests at the hospitals where her son was detained. In response, dozens of activists came to the hospitals to support Muhammad.

“Even supporting our husbands and visiting them while they are on the brink of death seems to be considered dangerous by Israel,” said Rima Janazreh.

Sami Janazreh is among several Palestinian prisoners on hunger strike. Fuad Assi, Adib Mafarjeh, Muhannad al-Azzeh and Muhammad Qawasmeh are on hunger strike in protest against administrative detention, isolation, or medical neglect.

Mansour Moqtada, a seriously ill prisoner, is undertaking a liquid-only fast. Serving a life sentence, Moqtada was seriously injured during his arrest by Israeli forces in 2002.

Another Palestinian prisoner, Majdi Yassin, announced that he was ending his hunger strike in the past few days. Yassin, who holds Swedish citizenship, was arrested at the Israeli-controlled crossing between the occupied West Bank and Jordan in April. He was traveling to Sweden at the time.

Yassin is due to be brought before an Israeli military court next week.

“This is not the battle of one prisoner; it’s a battle against an entire system,” Khader Adnan said. “And this form of protest will continue until administrative detention is abolished.”

Budour Youssef Hassan is a Palestinian writer and law graduate based in occupied Jerusalem. 

Blog:budourhassan.wordpress.com. Twitter: @Budour48

Shot looking for work: Palestinians face Israeli bullets at illegal crossings

Hundreds of Palestinians in search of work enter Israel illegally from West Bank every day; recent tensions have led to spike in shootings

Israeli soldiers stand guard at separation fence in West Bank (AFP)-Othman Salah: 'The past few weeks have been very intense' (MEE/Abed al Qaisi)

Ahmad cannot find an accounting job, so works illegally on building sites in Israel (MEE/Abed al Qaisi)

Sheren Khalel-Friday 13 May 2016

DAR SALAH, Occupied West Bank - Khalid Rashaida was crossing into Israel on an illegal pathfrom his village when he was shot in the leg, one of nine people reportedly hit by Israeli gunfire at the same crossing this month.

“I didn’t see any soldiers around when I went to cross through the opening in the chain-link fence," Rashaida told Middle East Eye. "But once I was on the other side I felt something hit my leg and looked down and I was bleeding."

The 42-year-old passed out and woke up in a nearby hospital before having to undergo surgery to remove the bullet.

“There was no warning before they shot,” Rashaida said. “They didn’t need to shoot me because I would not have run. I am an old man. I swear if they would have yelled at me to stop I would have stopped right away.”

The Israeli army told the Palestinian news agency Maan that it had no report of the incident.

The unemployment rate in the occupied West Bank is about 18 percent, a three-percent rise from 2015, according to the Palestinian Bureau of Statistics.

The bureau says the average daily wage in the West Bank is about $26, half of what a Palestinian working in Israel takes home each day.

According to Israeli workers rights’ group Kav Laoved, about 30,000 Palestinians in the West Bank are granted Israeli work permits each year, but that is a fraction of those who apply, resulting in thousands of others working illegally.

The group found that illegal workers not only take huge risks in crossing, but are also “more vulnerable to exploitation by their employers”.

Still, there is little to no work to be found at home.

Othman Salah, a member of Dar Salah village’s local council, told MEE that Rashaida was the ninth person to be shot and wounded this month while trying to cross. About 200 Palestinians use the crossing each day to head into Israel.

“The crossing is very dangerous, everyone knows that, but usually it’s not like this,” Salah said. “The past few weeks have been very intense for workers making the crossing.

"I think the recent bus bombing in Jerusalem, and then all the Jewish holidays being celebrated lately, have made the situation more complicated. The Israeli soldiers seem to be trying to send a message that the crossing is too dangerous to risk.”

Rashaida said he did not know when he will recover from the wound he suffered on Sunday, but he will continue taking the illegal crossing at Dar Salah village, in spite of the danger.

“It’s not like any of us want to work illegally in Israel,” Rashaida said. “But there are no jobs in the West Bank, so I have no choice but to do this, and this time I was unlucky.”

“The wages are not comparable - to work in Israel is much better money.

"And Israel won’t give me permission to work legally, so my choice to feed my family is to work illegally. 

I’m not asking for handouts, I want to work for my money, but I will do whatever I have to do to feed my wife and seven kids. For me that means working illegally in Israel, I don’t see one single other option.”

Ahmad, 26, was himself preparing to cross on Sunday when he heard about Rashaida.

“I put my bag down and decided not to go - I didn’t want to risk it,” Ahmad said, asking to only be referred to by his first name for fear of retaliation by the Israeli government.

Ahmad has been making the illegal crossing from Dar Salah village since he was 18, he said. Just months after he began making the crossing, he saw a man shot dead by Israeli forces.

“I knew the risks from the beginning. Of course it is dangerous, but there are no other options for work."

Ahmad has a degree in accounting from Bethlehem University, but upon graduation found there were no jobs in the West Bank. Instead he labors illegally in Israel as a construction worker.

“It is hard to find a job here anyway, but if you don’t have a family connection, or if you aren’t with the [ruling] Fatah party, forget it - it’s impossible to find a job in the West Bank, even with my degree."

The Palestinian Bureau of Statistics found that youths aged 20-24 suffer the highest rates of unemployment, with nearly half having no jobs, although it was unclear if that statistic included the Gaza Strip as well as the occupied West Bank.

“I was caught once by Israeli forces when I was already in Israel and I was so scared they would take me to prison, but in the end they just dropped me off at a checkpoint in the northern West Bank and left me there,” Ahmad said. “I know it is not always that simple, but nothing here is simple.

“People ask me if I am scared to cross illegally into Israel because it’s dangerous, but everything here is dangerous. I can be shot and killed for nothing, for crossing the road, for being in the wrong place.

"In the end, I need to make a living and working in Israel is the only way for me. If I do the same full-time construction job in the West Bank I won’t even make enough to pay for my transportation and food.”

To mitigate the risk of the crossing, Ahmad enters Israel for months at a time, working and finishing a project before returning home to the West Bank.

He eats and sleeps at his building site, only leaving the site when absolutely necessary.

“It’s not a nice life, crossing borders and sleeping in construction zones, but there is not life here. We say, ‘We live because we are not dead,’ because that is all it is. Living life with no options isn’t life, it’s just not death.”

Israeli authorities did not respond to requests for comment.

Zionism’s roots help us interpret Israel today

Palestinians gather next to a house sprayed with graffiti reading in Hebrew: "revenge" and "hello from the prisoners of Zion", in the village of Beitillu, near Ramallah in the Israeli occupied West Bank on December 22, 2015. Abbas Momani / AFP Photo

Jonathan Cook-May 9, 2016

It was an assessment no one expected from the deputy head of the Israeli military. In his Holocaust Day speech last week, Yair Golan compared current trends in Israel with Germany in the early 1930s. In today’s Israel, he said, could be recognised “the revolting processes that occurred in Europe … There is nothing easier than hating the stranger, nothing easier than to stir fears and intimidate."

The furore over Gen Golan’s remarks followed a similar outcry in Britain at statements by former London mayor Ken Livingstone. He observed that Hitler had been “supporting Zionism" in 1933 when the Nazis signed a transfer agreement, allowing some German Jews to emigrate to Palestine.

In their different ways both comments refer back to a heated argument among Jews about whether Zionism was a blessing or a blight. Although largely overlooked today, the dispute throws much light on today’s Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Those differences came to a head in 1917 when the British government issued the Balfour Declaration, a document promising for the first time to realise the Zionist goal of a “national home" for the Jews in Palestine. Only one minister, Edwin Montagu, dissented. Notably, he was the only Jew in the British cabinet. The two facts were not unconnected. In a memo, he warned that his government’s policy would be a “rallying ground for anti-Semites in every country".

He was far from alone in that view. Of the 4 million Jews who left Europe between 1880 and 1920, only 100,000 went to Palestine in line with Zionist expectations. As the Israeli novelist A B Yehoshua once noted: “If the Zionist party had run in an election in the early 20th century, it would have received only 6 or 7 per cent of the Jewish people’s vote."

What Montagu feared was that the creation of a Jewish state in a far-flung territory dovetailed a little too neatly with the aspirations of Europe’s anti-Semites, then much in evidence, including in the British government.

According to the dominant assumptions of Europe’s ethnic nationalisms of the time, the region should be divided into peoples or biological “races", and each should control a territory in which it could flourish. The Jews were viewed as a “problem" because – in addition to lingering Christian anti-Semitism – they were considered subversive of this national model.

Jews were seen as a race apart, one that could not – or should not – be allowed to assimilate. Better, on this view, to encourage their emigration from Europe. For British elites, the Balfour Declaration was a means to achieve that end.

Theodor Herzl, the father of political Zionism, understood this trenchant anti-Semitism very well. His idea for a Jewish state was inspired in part by the infamous Dreyfus affair, in which a Jewish French army officer was framed by his commanders for treason. Herzl was convinced that anti-Semitism would always exclude Jews from true acceptance in Europe.

It is for this reason that Mr Livingstone’s comments – however clumsily expressed – point to an important truth. Herzl and other early Zionists implicitly accepted the ugly framework of European bigotry.

Jews, Herzl concluded, must embrace their otherness and regard themselves as a separate race. Once they found a benefactor to give them a territory – soon Britain would oblige with Palestine – they could emulate the other European peoples from afar.

For a while, some Nazi leaders were sympathetic. Adolf Eichmann, one of the later engineers of the Holocaust, visited Palestine in 1937 to promote the “Zionist emigration" of Jews.

Hannah Arendt, the German Jewish scholar of totalitarianism, argued even in 1944 – long after the Nazis abandoned ideas of emigration and embraced genocide instead – that the ideology underpinning Zionism was “nothing else than the uncritical acceptance of German-inspired nationalism".

Israel and its supporters would prefer we forget that, before the rise of the Nazis, most Jews deeply opposed a future in which they were consigned to Palestine.

Those who try to remind us of this forgotten history are likely to be denounced, like Livingstone, as anti-Semites. They are accused of making a simplistic comparison between Zionism and Nazism.

But there is good reason to examine this uncomfortable period.

Modern Israeli politicians, including Benjamin Netanyahu, still regularly declare that Jews have only one home – in Israel. After every terror attack in Europe, they urge Jews to hurry to Israel, telling them they can never be safe where they are.

It also alerts us to the fact that even today the Zionist movement cannot help but mirror many of the flaws of those now-discredited European ethnic nationalisms, as Gen Golan appears to appreciate.

Such characteristics – all too apparent in Israel – include: an exclusionary definition of peoplehood; a need to foment fear and hatred of the other as a way to keep the nation tightly bound; an obsession with and hunger for territory; and a highly militarised culture.

Recognising Zionism’s ideological roots, inspired by racial theories of peoplehood that in part fuelled the Second World War, might allow us to understand modern Israel a little better. And why it seems incapable of extending a hand of peace to the Palestinians.

Jonathan Cook is an independent journalist in Nazareth

High Court challenge over Conservative election expenses

The Electoral Commission is taking the Conservative Party to the High Court in an effort to force it to disclose information related to claims it has breached election spending rules.

Prime Minister David Cameron during the 2015 election campaign

THURSDAY 12 MAY 2016

The Commission is investigating after a series of Channel 4 News probes into how the Conservatives recorded campaign spending in last year's General Election and three by-elections.

This programme understands the Electoral Commission is seeking documents in relation to the Conservatives' campaign against Nigel Farage in South Thanet, and three by-elections it fought against Ukip candidates in 2014 in Newark, Clacton and Rochester & Strood.

The legal action represents an unprecedented step, as the first time the Electoral Commission has had to resort to the High Court to seek information from a political party.

However, the Conservatives quickly denied not cooperating with the Electoral Commission, and said they had always intended to respond by a deadline of 1pm today.
A spokeswoman said: "There was no need for them to make this application to the High Court."

They have since provided information, which the watchdog said it is reviewing.

Conservative MP for South Thanet Craig Mackinlay

A Channel 4 News investigation has so far uncovered £182,000 of allegedly undeclared or misdeclared spending by the Conservatives, across 33 constituencies, potentially involving up to 29 sitting Tory MPs.

It includes more than £100,000 of seemingly undeclared hotel receipts from the three by-election campaigns, and more than £18,000 allegedly improperly declared as national spending in the South Thanet constituency battle against Ukip leader Nigel Farage.

The party has previously responded to the allegations concerning the by-elections and South Thanet saying: "All election spending has been correctly recorded in accordance with the law".
This programme has also found £38,000 of undeclared hotel receipts used to house busloads of activists who took part in the party's Battlebus2015 tour, which transported the volunteers to 29 key marginal seats in the last ten days of the election.

The Conservative Party said the omission was due to an "administrative error" but insist other costs, such as the buses, were properly declared as national rather than local spending.

So far, eight police forces are investigating.

Nigel Farage at the polls on election day
Today Devon and Cornwall Police announced West Mercia Police will take over its investigation because the force's Police and Crime Commissioner, Alison Hernandez, is implicated. She continues to deny any wrongdoing.

The Electoral Commission said it had applied to the High Court for a "document and information disclosure order" after party chiefs failed to provide requested details of spending.

The Commission said the party failed properly to act on two statutory notices requiring it to produce information.

It said the Conservative party provided "limited disclosure of material in response to the first notice issued on 18 February 2016 -- almost three months ago.

The party has provided no material in response to the second notice issued on 23 March 2016, despite being granted extensions to the original deadlines to comply, the Commission said.

Bob Posner, director of party and election finance and legal counsel, said: "If parties under investigation do not comply with our requirements for the disclosure of relevant material in reasonable time and after sufficient opportunity to do so, the Commission can seek recourse through the courts.

"We are today asking the court to require the party to fully disclose the documents and information we regard as necessary to effectively progress our investigation into the party's campaign spending returns."
For all the detail on every seat affected - the revelations, figures and receipts in full - visit our dedicated #electionexpenses page

By ignoring corruption's colonial roots, Cameron's summit was destined to fail

Nigeria may be corrupt, but denying the historical role Britain and others played in this rendered the event useless, argues Ventures Africa

 David Cameron and President Muhammadu Buhari at the anti-corruption summit in London. Photograph: Reuters

 Hadassah Egbedi-Friday 13 May 2016 

Ahead of his anti-corruption summit to tackle what must be the world’s oldest skill, the art of looting, David Cameron was overheard telling the Queen that Nigeria and Afghanistan are the “two most corrupt countries in the world.”

But wasn’t the art of looting perfected and then institutionalised by the colonial enterprises of the erstwhile British Empire? It’s hard not to think of this history when you see the footage of old and greying white men and their queen as they discuss two countries that were once “possessions”.

It’s also hard not to think about how this history continues to play an important role in the perpetuation of the corruption about which the prime minister seems so concerned.

When asked about Cameron’s remarks, Nigeria’s president Muhammadu Buharioffered a terse response. “I am not going to demand any apology from anybody. What I am demanding is the return of the [stolen] assets.” Buhari himself has numerous times publicly and unapologetically denounced his own countrymen for being fabulously corrupt.

So is it really a gaffe that Cameron has said what our own leaders have already openly told the world? Really, outrage about the British elite having a hearty laugh over the moral backwardness of their former colonies misses the point.

The real issue is this: by failing to address the colonial roots of corruption, any attempt to tackle the problem proposed by the summit was always going to fall short.

Much of Nigeria’s “fantastic corruption” is tied to its oil industry, through which multiple western governments have subverted the rule of law and the will of the people. From bribing local rulers when oil was first discovered, to bribing military dictators during the 70s, 80s and 90s, to accepting murky funds stashed in British banks, the UK has actively incubated and encouraged a monster.

To be sure, none of this should obscure the fact that today Nigeria has a corrosive corruption problem that has been exceedingly detrimental to its hardworking (and mostly honest) general population. However it should help to contextualise the British prime minister’s offensive remarks.

As expected, there have been varying reactions to Cameron’s statement, many angry, but just as many supportive of what they view as Cameron calling it like it is. “The prime minister’s remarks were outspoken and unguarded but they were not untrue,” said BBC correspondent James Landale.

The basis for this assumption is the 2015 corruption perception index prepared by Transparency International, which ranked Nigeria as the 136th “least transparent country” in the world.

But one could argue that this popular index is only a measure of perception, and therefore mainly reflects international business opinion. The Tax Justice Network’s financial secrecy index provides an alternative set of metrics for the “global measure of probity” and here the tables turn. This index ranks the UK as the 15th worst jurisdiction for secrecy, guilty of allowing illicit cross-border financial flows.

It is not far fetched to argue that these “networks of secrecy” in the UK and other European countries have helped to perpetuate fraud, money laundering, bribery, political impunity, and even devastating violence in affected countries, many of them in Africa.

That Nigeria’s politics suffers from corruption is not up for debate. At the same time, “fantastic” corruption in a globalised world is reliant on enablers, often the finely suited businessmen and politicians from developed nations who value rule of law at home but think nothing of subverting law and order in emerging markets.

At the close of his anti-corruption summit, Cameron and the attending heads of state announced plans for an anti-corruption coordination body based in London. While this is an interesting first step, it has also been stated that this body will have no legal powers and will serve only to advise governments and law enforcement agencies tracking stolen assets. There was also mention of a global forum for asset recovery which will bring world leaders together in 2017 to discuss returning stolen assets to countries like Nigeria, Ukraine, Sri Lanka and Tunisia.

But without western leaders – who are supposedly evangelists for transparency – seriously considering their historical role in generating and maintaining systems that encourage the looting, none of this will have an impact.

We look forward to the day when the leaders of emerging markets countries will summon the heads of western nations to their capitals to atone for their roles in perpetuating corruption. We’re not holding our breath.

A version of this article first appeared on Ventures Africa