2 more Navy officers involved in gruesome student murders in Trincomalee arrested ! Karannagoda , Sarath Silva plots flop !

(Lanka-e-News -03.March.2017, 11.30PM)  Two more navy officers involved in the gruesome ruthless multiple murder of 10 Tamil  students  after committing extortion  in 2008-2009 during the period when Vasantha Karnnagaoda was the Navy commander were arrested yesterday night (02). These victims are residents of Trincomalee and other areas who had passed the GCE advanced level  exam and were in the ready to enter Universities.

The two suspects arrested were  : Sumith Ranasinghe a commodore and Lakshman Udaya Kumara a leading seaman of the Navy. 

Vasantha Karanngoda , Shaveendra Fernando and Sarath N .Silva the most infamous ex chief justice went out of the way to avert the arrest of the suspects but to no avail. Lanka e news reported on 2016-10-08 that the traitorous  Wijedasa Rajapakse the tie coat, cut –throat, turncoat minister , and black coat ,parana coat Sarath N. Silva were proffering advice to save  the criminals after creeping into the Navy chalets in the nights. 

No matter what , on January 14 th the suspect in this multiple murder , Lieutenant Commander Dhammika Anil Mapa was first arrested and produced in court ,after as many as about  8 years since the murders were committed. The Colombo additional magistrate Jeyaram Trossky at that time ordered that the other suspects too shall be arrested.

Subsequently , the former Navy commander Vasantha Karannagoda and present Navy Commander Raveendra Wjegunawardena met with the president secretly , and saw to it the arrests are not carried out. The reason for this was , the alleged involvement of Karannagoda in these murders, because the leader of this murder squad was Navy Sampath Munasinghe alias Navy Sampath who was then an assistant of Karannagoda himself. 

When president took measures to avert the arrests , Lanka e news and Ravaya exposed this unrelentingly . The president amidst these exposures retracted his earlier decision to give instructions again to make the arrests. 

Following the order issued not  to arrest the criminals of the president , Lanka e news highlighted and warned via  its reports that SL is going to be deprived of the GSP plus because Geneva Human Rights commission is turning antagonistic to SL as a lawless country that does not  respect the rule of law.

These international threats to force SL  to take punitive action  notwithstanding , if a state  does not take steps to punish the criminals who murdered many students in the prime of their lives, and mind you these were students  who have completed their school education and were at the threshold of a University career  , such a state is hell and cannot be called   a country .  Though evidence were available in regard to ten murdered students only , the true number of victims was 38 . Among the victims were also an owner and  driver of a Van engaged in Katunayake Airport hires.   

Connceted Reports

President retracts his illegal order not to arrest criminals of the Navy amidst lawful pressures ! -Conspiracy hatched in Gota’s house

Investigation into suicide kit etc .wrapped in a Sinhala newspaper detected in Chavakachcheri , and Navy murders immediately halted by President..!

Navy officer who killed 10 students after extortion during Rajapakse murderous decade arrested..!

President hurtles down 'cyanide road' : Takes initiative to save Navy white van murderers overriding court orders..!

A brief account of Vasantha Karannagoda’s student murders and infamous white Van crimes….

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by     (2017-03-03 18:41:21)

13 A, the Indian model, and the problem of interpellation — Part 2

Sri Lanka’s experience of devolution has been very instructive.

by Izeth Hussain-Mar 4, 2017

Mar 3, 2017

( March 4, 2017, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) The term “ethnic” can be defined in a hundred ways without any one of them commanding unanimous assent. But there is broad agreement about what are the components that constitute ethnicity. One of them is language. Ethnic groups defined in terms of language – though with some exceptions – constitute the states that form the Indian union. Ethnic groups can also be defined in terms of religion. In the pre-1947 Indian sub-continent all Bengalis spoke the same language but they were divided by the religions of Hinduism and Islam. On the linguistic plane they were united to the extent of taking a common pride in having produced two great Bengali poets: Tagore, a Hindu, and Nazrul Islam, a Muslim. All the same the Bengalis were divided, lethally divided, by their religions. Bengal, along with the Punjab, was the site of the most lethal riots during the 1947 Partition.

At the time of Partition India inherited scores of millions of Muslims. How did Delhi cope with that problem? Kashmiri Muslims were allowed devolution because of historical circumstances, a unique exception because at that time the rest of India had states established on the basis of language, not religion. Since that time relations between Kashmir and Delhi have been troubled, in recent times very troubled, and it now seems that in refusing to allow self-determination for Kashmir India assumed a weight that it will have to carry over a long time. What about the rest of the Muslims who don’t have devolution on the basis of religion? The contrast with the plight of the Kashmiri Muslims is very striking indeed. There was the Babri Masjid horror, the demolition of the mosque at Ajodhya by the RSS Hindu fundamentalists, and there was the 2002 Gujarat massacre of Muslims. But apart from those horrors the relations between the Hindus and the Muslims over the seventy years since Partition have been by and large peaceful. What is the reason? The only reason the writer can think of is that India has had for seventy years – except for two years of the Indira Emergency – a fully functioning democracy under which the minorities have been given a reasonable degree of fair and equal treatment.

Next we must consider the rather special case of Kalistan. Hindus and Sikhs have different religions but there was never antagonism between them because of religion. The antagonism arose because of India’s appallingly poor economic performance and Sikh pride in having had a Sikh empire for over 150 years. That led to the demand for a Sikh state within the Indian union, which was given in the form of Haryana in the mid-sixties. It was an attempt to solve an ethnic problem through devolution but instead of a solution it led to an aggravation of the problem with the demand for the separate state of Kalistan. That produced Longowal and the more extreme Bindranwale, the sacking of the Golden Temple, and the assassination of Indira Gandhi followed by horrendous anti-Sikh rioting. But since around 2000 the demand for Kalistan has died out. What is the explanation? The writer believes that it is two-fold: India has made spectacular economic progress and under a fully functioning democracy the Sikhs have been given a reasonable degree of fair and equal treatment.

What conclusions can we draw from the data collated in this article? India has had three models for dealing with ethnicity, the most important of which is devolution on the basis of language. As stated in the first part of this article, inter-ethnic relations can be equable and co-operative or they can be agonistic and antagonistic. Inter-ethnic relations based on language have been of the first kind in India whereas they have been of the second kind in Sri Lanka. It is therefore very difficult to believe that the replication of that Indian model will succeed in Sri Lanka. It is more likely to compound the problem. The second Indian model is devolution based on factors other than language: religion in the case of Kashmir and Sikh identity in the case of the Sikhs. Religion in India notoriously led to horribly agonistic and antagonistic relations between Hindus and Muslims, so that it is not surprising that devolution in Kashmir has been a failure up to now. As for the Sikhs, devolution in the form of Haryana seriously compounded the Sikh problem for decades, as noted above. The third Indian model for dealing with ethnicity is democracy, which also as noted above has been a success for seventy years for over a hundred million Muslims. True, there was the Gujarat massacre of Muslims in 2002 but unlike over the 1983 holocaust in Sri Lanka there were investigations for years together with some amount of punitive action. That was democracy in action in Gujarat. The writer would add that even the Indian success of linguistic devolution had to have behind it a democratic culture, making possible the compromise and accommodativeness without which devolution cannot be operated successfully. So, what has succeeded in India in dealing with antagonistic inter-ethnic relations is democracy, not devolution.

Sri Lanka’s experience of devolution has been very instructive. The Eastern Provincial Council has been working smoothly enough, and its relationship with the Government in Colombo has been equable and cooperative. By contrast the Northern Provincial Council gives the impression that it is not working at all. What is the explanation for this stark contrast? In the Eastern Province all three Sri Lankan ethnic groups are represented while the Northern Province is predominantly Tamil. The contrast is between devolution on a multi-ethnic basis in the Eastern Province and on a mono-ethnic basis in the Northern Province. Therefore a Sinhalese-Tamil polarization takes place in the case of the Northern Province, the factor of antagonistic inter-ethnic relations comes into play, and the NPC is rendered virtually inoperative. The contrast suggests strongly that devolution on an ethnic basis cannot work smoothly in Sri Lanka.

Some, indeed many, would hold that the real problem in the NPC is a character defect of Chief Minister Wigneswaran: a judge who has strayed into politics, who furthermore has an injudicious gift for striking provocative belligerent postures. The present writer believes that the explanation is to be found rather in the problem of interpellation. The writer, at the risk of seeming to be intellectually pretentious, is invoking the theory of Louis Althusser, which should be given weight because he was the foremost Marxist philosopher of the last century. Here the present writer will spell out briefly the bare essentials of the theory, leaving it to the interested reader to turn to the internet which has much information about it.

When a police officer interpellates an individual Hey! You there! a relationship is established that transcends the two individuals. The one represents the State, the other is a citizen; one has power behind him, the other has no power; one is super-ordinate, the other is subordinate, and so on, implying the positions of the two individuals in a society. What is involved also is Foucault’s notion that where there is power there is also the contestation of power, explicit or implicit. So when an individual is interpellated as the member of an ethnic minority, certain reactions come into play. When there is devolution on an ethnic basis and inter-ethnic relations are already agonistic and antagonistic – as between the Sinhalese and the Tamils – the contestation of power has to be expected. The travails of the NPC have to be explained in such terms, not only in terms of the peculiarities to be expected of a judge turned politician. On the other hand, when an individual is interpellated as a citizen who in a democracy has equal rights irrespective of his ethnic identity, his ethnicity is transcended and the agonistic and the antagonistic in inter-ethnic relations are in abeyance. So, when inter-ethnic relations are not equable and cooperative, ethnic problems have a better chance of being resolved through democracy rather than through devolution on an ethnic basis.

The writer would advocate the jettisoning of 13 A after reaching an understanding with India. We should attempt a solution through a fully functioning democracy with adequate safeguards for the rights and legitimate interests of the minorities as in the West. The Tamils are living quite happily under that dispensation in the West and elsewhere. Why not here? The familiar answer is that they are indigenous to Sri Lankan territory and are therefore entitled to self-determination here. It is a nonsensical claim, but they are at liberty to go on clamoring for it in Geneva and elsewhere while their problems get solved through democracy here. We must bear in mind that we did have a fully functioning democracy before 1956, and right now we are in the process of entrenching it. There should be no great problem about working out the laws and institutions to safeguard minority rights and interests. So, let’s try democracy as the solution, and as for devolution – Chuck it.

Legislation is needed to restructure the gatekeepers of higher education 

3 March 2017

Two prominent gatekeepers of higher education in Sri Lanka are the University Grants Commission (UGC) and the Sri Lanka Medical Council (SLMC). They have achieved this status due to an artificially created scarcity of credentials, or access to credentials, that they ‘guard’.

Legislation is needed to restructure the gatekeepers of higher education.docx by Thavam Ratna on Scribd

Eliminating “Ragging” – Who Is Willing To Do What It Takes ?

By Asoka N.I. Ekanayaka –March 3, 2017

Prof. Asoka N.I. Ekanayaka

It is good to observe the prevailing public uproar following the arrest of student thugs of the University of Peradeniya for ragging new entrants in a torture house they had set up for this purpose. However as someone who has seen it all before and can look back on a lifetime of frustrating endeavor against “ragging” ( an unfortunate euphemism for human torture in the campus) , one may be excused for being somewhat skeptical about the ultimate outcome of the current hue and cry and media publicity over ragging, before the dust settles and all is as it was before. Consequently this article is intended to set out some critical perspectives based on long personal experience resisting this abomination, for the benefit of those who may be serious about doing something about it today.

During 30 years of relentless struggle against this depravity as a university teacher and Dean of a Faculty one has often been up against the weakness and conciliatory mentality of university authorities to whom what matters is peace at any price on campus whatever the sacrifice of moral principle. In a world where outward appearances count more than the inner reality University authorities often share with other heads of institutions the vanity of wanting to show the world that all is well in their own neck of the woods. To frankly concede that things are bad and can only get better is not considered good for the institutional image nor does it flatter the ego of those who run it !

On one occasion I recall some brave anti rag students having to endure the stubborn inactivity of even a deputy proctor in the faculty where it is the primary duty of proctors to ensure student discipline, so much so that one wondered on whose side he was. And then there was the persistent apathy ignorance and naivety of a large majority of the academic community who couldn’t care less about the problem of ragging, so that the few who motivated by a deep sense of moral outrage and zero tolerance are passionate about eliminating this evil, find themselves out on a limb being resented as eccentric mavericks who are rocking the boat.

Sadly the few who have the courage and inspiration to fight this evil far from being appreciated frequently have to pay a painful price for their convictions. In my experience idealistic “anti-rag” students who bravely refuse to be ragged are compelled to be non-residential throughout their course despite the financial cost as it would be too dangerous for them to remain in halls of residence. Such high principled students are the cream of our youth with their commitment to freedom and human dignity. Yet I have known them to be abused, threatened, and assaulted by student thugs, and even resented by the teaching staff and administration, while being persecuted in various ways throughout their undergraduate course. Many are the occasions when such fine students have filed into my office in distress seeking sympathy and support during a time of trial. Indeed university authorities see to shrink from even using the expression “anti rag” for fear of alienating the larger student population.

Incredibly as a professor I myself have had to endure my share of hardship for being an inveterate opponent of campus ragging. I recall the terrific explosion of a powerful firecracker being set off just outside my bungalow at dead of night followed by a nasty telephone call. My vehicle parked in the faculty premises was broken into, ATM card stolen, and the pouch containing vehicle documents taken and thrown by the roadside where miraculously it was retrieved by a generous ice cream seller ! In 2006 one Faculty was plastered with offensive posters against a certain professor with the students on strike, all because he had on principle objected to the sham of a blood donation campaign organised by the seniors with its subtle overtones of coercion at a time when new entrants were being ragged by seniors. Some of the posters implied that he was a terrorist sympathiser, a dicey thing in the bad old days where anybody who had been so stigmatized was fair game. It transpired that in his naivety the Dean of the Faculty had himself approved the blood donation so that when trouble broke out this staff member was isolated with the Faculty Board looking at him as if he was the troublemaker, a classic case of ‘victim blaming’ ! It did not matter that in a vote of thanks several years before a Vice Chancellor had said of this ‘victim’ when he was stepping down as Dean of the Faculty that he “ appreciated the ethical and moral stand taken by him in arriving at decisions whenever there was a crisis in the university”. A decade later the sordid posters that should have been taken down immediately, were allowed to pollute the walls of the Faculty all day until late afternoon before they were finally removed. That exemplifies the attitude of the system towards the problem and those who fight against it. That is why the problem remains.

Such stories need to be told and there is more. But such examples of painful struggle point to the fact that the problem of campus torture is a malignant evil that goes much deeper and is far more complex and resistant to solution than people think. Despite much talk, pious statements and periodic howls by the media, campus torture will never be eliminated unless there is a fundamental transformation at the level of both heart and head in those dealing with the malady.

Firstly, at the level of the “heart” people must be moved by a profound sense of moral outrage. There is a world of a difference between simply being concerned about something opposing it or even condemning it, and reacting to it with passionate moral outrage. Sadly that is what is missing. Soon after Black July 1983 I recall the late Bishop Lakshman Wickremesinghe controversially calling for an expression of “shame and apology”. That was moral outrage. I recall telling students that moral outrage is when you feel so bad about something that it keeps you awake at night. The converse is a passion for righteousness that Jesus famously referred to in his Sermon of the Mount blessing those who “ hunger and thirst after righteousness”, where the desperate yearning for righteousness justice and truth is like food and drink to a man dying of starvation. How much sheer moral outrage about the torture of new entrants do we see in politicians, university administrators, academic staff, parents and society in general ? I wonder how many university teachers burn with the moral outrage and indignation that keeps them awake at night ?!! But that is what makes all the difference.

Far back in 1983 I wrote to the UGC Chairman Professor FSCP Kalpage proposing that a central task force or steering committee of people driven by moral outrage comprising “committed individuals with total unrelenting uncompromising commitment to the complete elimination of all forms of ragging”, be established with wide powers to study the problem, make recommendations, monitor their implementation and evaluate their impact. He responded asking for a list of persons who would fit that description ! I could think of very few then. I wonder how many there are now. However today 34 years later I hope the government would identify such a dedicated group and constitute them as a powerful task force coming directly under the President / Prime Minister with the task of formulating an effective final solution to completely eradicate ragging in our educational institutions within a specific time frame.

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Abolish SAITM – Anti SAITM Groups

Mar 03, 2017

Over 5000 Anti SAITM activists including Doctors, University students, Political Party Members and Trade Unionists rushed to in front of National Hospital in Colombo today (March 03, 2017)

and held a protest march up to the Vihara Maha Devi Outdoor Stadium and staged a protest rally against SAITM
Activists demand government to abolish the SAITM
Talking to Lanka News Web Dr. Senal Fernando, member of media committee of GMO (Government Medical Officers) said that over 8000 doctors and 2000 students participate for the protest march and rally.
Meanwhile medical students organized ongoing silent protest campaign held in front of Medical College in Colombo completed 401 days today

Thilanga’s Melbourne ‘cricket aid night’- another damp squib like in England ! only one bat sold and only one cricketer attended !

(Lanka-e-News -03.March.2017, 11.30PM) Thilanga Sumathipala the infamous bookmaker who is breaking records in financial  profligacy – wasting the funds of the Sri Lanka cricket association had broken a similar record   while in  Australia by  indulging in yet another  extravagant  inane Tamasha , according to reports reaching Lanka e news from Melbourne.  

A  ‘Melbourne party’ was held in Australia  recently when the SL cricket team was there . This was one in a series of ‘dinner parties’  that are being thrown abroad country -wise    in violation of the constitution of the cricket association  under the guise of  collecting donations under ‘cricket aid’ project , which in fact are  ‘dead losses’  like Sumathipala himself is  to cricket in SL .

Believe it or not ! This party was organized by Susantha Katugampola in Melbourne , a lawyer who has not even held a bat  though he is supposed to have  a bat which even the moths have refused to eat. Still more  shocking ! While there were  dozens of our players in Australia , it is this bloke who was appointed as SL’s cricket representative there. This scoundrel who did  all the sordid biddings for the Rajapakse regime until  the point of  their saying to him , ‘you are doing our sordid biddings much more than  even our latrine coolie   ’, is now like a slave laboring assiduously  to make ‘Gota’ the next president   , when Gota himself is aware that is only a pipe dream. 

Based on information conveyed by  inside sources of the cricket association , and our own Melbourne correspondent , these Tamashas  of unlimited enjoyment and extravagance after taking the players  dressed in tie and coat there , raked in no earnings at all in much the same way as  the cricket  ‘dinner circus’  that was performed in the UK earlier on.

 Of course ,as always our sports minister  Dayasiri Jayasekera and some other ministers  too had their Lion’s share of fun and frolic via these Tamashas  at the expense of association funds , as though they have been elected by the people to fatten only themselves on even   death and despair of the masses.  While ministers  Dayasiri Jayasekera , Nimal Lansa (kudu Lansa) and Arundhika Fernando ( Ethanol Arundhika) were having their mirth and merriment on this tour of Melbourne and enjoying these sumptuous ‘carnival’ dinner parties to saturation point at the expense of the cricket Association funds , it was, Shammi Silva, the treasurer ,cricket association who had made arrangements  to meet all their expenses including ticket fares , dinners and their devil may care fun and frolic  out of association funds. 

Cricket election organizers Sujeewa Godaliyeddha , Raveen Wickremeratne , Shammi Silva, Janaka Pathirane , Aruna De Silva and Priyantha Soysa close cronies of Thilanga , as well as a member of Shammi Silva’s sports club were all participants in  this tour wasting cricket association funds. What’s more ? Sujeewa and Raveen took along their spouses too . Raveen ‘s son who is studying in Australia , as well as  the family of cricket association secretary Mohan De Silva too joined in the grand dinner ‘circus’ not as acrobats but as gormandizers. 

Though grandiose arrangements were made to sell commemorative souvenirs , only one bat could be sold, and the maximum bid made was US Dollars 2500.00  . This sum was even less than the cost of ticket fares of two participants in  this tour !

Can you beat that ! though there were so many Sri Lankan cricketers residing in Australia ,except Asanka Gurusinghe no one else attended the function.  Where ten guests  should sit  at a table , 13 were seated. Though Gurusinghe is a close friend of Arjuna , he had attended the dinner because he was expecting to secure an official post in SL’s cricket arena. By now he has secured the post of manager of the SL team and his hope bore fruit. However there is an issue revolving around this appointment . While Ranjith Fernando has been appointed as tournament manager , how come Gurusinghe is appointed as team manager ? This has triggered a conflict.

Even to sell  tickets valued at US $ 100.00 was a traumatic experience and a huge ‘headache’ to the organizers because popular cricketers did not attend . Since 50 of the seats were allocated to the cricket association , the meager proceeds of the few tickets sold was enough only to pay the hotel bill .In other words even that small profit earned from the sale of tickets was deprived. 

On the earlier tour of England too by playing hell with that tour similarly  through extravagant  Tamashas and sumptuous dinners  , association funds were wasted without let or hindrance. This tour of Melbourne too was a repetition of that most destructive profligate  exercise. But , the most tragic part of these devastating cricket  association fund wasting  ‘circuses’ is , these are not going to halt here and now with these tours , staff of the association point out with concern.

The boxes containing commemorative souvenirs which were sent from SL to England in view of the ‘circus’ to showcase Sri Lankan cricket  have been returned . Though those have been returned to Shammi in his name  , what happened to them  thereafter  is unknown. Raveen Wickremeratne who went to England supposedly to organize this grand ‘fiasco’ has collected US dollars 9000.00 ! from the cricket association .

It is significant to note ,despite the fact  the COPE committee questioned the registration of ‘cricket aid’ project as a separate entity of cricket association ,  minister of sports Dayasiri Jayasekera in charge in this regard has not questioned on  the colossal corruption and wastage of funds of the association nor uttered a word against it  because of the self serving   benefits he is deriving , and his close ties with Thilanga and Shammi . 

(These photographs herein depict some scenes of the ‘Melbourne grand Tamasha’  fiasco which raked in no profits )

By a Lanka e news special correspondent 
Translated by Jeff 

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by     (2017-03-03 18:28:21)

Previous Regime was responsible for underworld activities – Chameera Perera

Mar 03, 2017

Citizens’ Organizations’ Collection (COC) called for a press conference held at CSR in Colombo on Mar. 02, 2017 and expressed their oppose against the joint oppositions’ campaign on promoting former powerful defense secretary Gotabhaya Rajapakse.

Addressing the media Left Centre Co-convener Chameera Perera said that former government (Rajapakse regime) was responsible for the underworld as they patronage selected thugs for their own purpose such as Kotahena chaminda who shot Baratha Lakshman Premechandra

“Welikada massacre was the best example for that. The report on Welikada massacre mentioned all details about the massacre. Military cannot enter to the prison with weapons. But it has happened. If so, it was some kind of underworld attack. During that attack prisoner were called by their name and killed according to the media sources. Who gave the order to military to enter to the prison and kill prisoner? During that period Gotabha was the defense secretary and he should responsible for the attack. Did he do any punish the culprits?”

Perera recalled the attacks on media institutes and media personnel which were happened under the Rajapake regime.

“Some of Army intelligence officers have been arrested for attacks on journalists Keith Noyahr, Lasantha Wickramatunga and Prageeth Ekneligoda. Who gave the orders to them? As the defense secretary Gotabhaya Rajapakse was responsible for the attack. Social media sources reported that Gotabhaya has been directly involved for the Keith Noyahr assault.

Joint opposition misinterpreted the incident at Kalutara Prision.
We are not defending the present government. Government is responsible for this unpleasant incident since they failed to provide the proper protection. But we are defending the January 8th peoples’ mandate,”
Mauri de Silva, mother of three kids who struggling to find justice for his disappeared husband said that Gotabhaya Rajapakse is responsible for the abduction of her husband.
“I received a letter from some STF officers. It says what happened to my husband. I need justice for my husband. But there is no proper investigation on that abduction.”
Akalanka Hettiarachchi said that there are ready to lead the nation fro go back to dark era again.

Lawrence Ferdinando

The Month in Pictures: February 2017

Palestinians mourn over the body of Obeid Sufi, 25, during his funeral in Rafah, southern Gaza Strip, on 25 February. Sufi was among three workers who died after inhaling poisonous gas inside a tunnel under the border between Gaza and Egypt.Ashraf AmraAPA images

A demonstrator in the West Bank village of Kafr Qaddum holds up a burning tire in front of an Israeli military jeep during a protest against the occupation, 17 February. Kafr Qaddum began organizing weekly demonstrations in July 2011 to protest the army’s closure of the main road connecting the village to the city of Nablus.Haidi MotolaActiveStills

3 March 2017

During the month of February, a Palestinian died at an Israeli hospital where he was being treated after being shot by soldiers months earlier.

Muhammad Jallad was on his way to a chemotherapy session on 9 November when he was shot while crossing a street in the village of Huwwara in the northern occupied West Bank. The army claimed he was attempting to attack soldiers with a screwdriver.

An elderly man was shot in the foot and pelvis by soldiers at the same location on 28 February. The army claimed that Hussein Hassan Qawariq, 72, did not obey the soldiers’ commands before he was shot.

A Palestinian woman was shot and injured by a security guard at the Qalandiya checkpoint between the West Bank cities of Ramallah and Jerusalem one day earlier. The army claimed she was walking in the vehicle lane at the checkpoint while carrying a bag in a “suspicious manner” and did not heed the guards’ orders to stop.

A Palestinian youth from the West Bank was arrested after he allegedly injured six people during a shooting and stabbing attack in Petah Tikva, a city in Israel, on 9 February. A Palestinian citizen of Israel was attacked by a crowd of Israelis during the incident after shouting “Warning! Take cover!” in Arabic, Israel’s Ynet reported.

An elderly Palestinian man died after being run over by an Israeli settler.

Fisherman in critical condition

Israeli forces opened fire on Palestinians in Gaza along the boundary with Israel and at sea, disrupting the work of farmers and fishermen. A fisherman was in critical condition after being shot in the back while being detained off Gaza’s coast on 21 February.

Gaza was hit by Israeli airstrikes on two occasions during the month, injuring two civilians and damaging agricultural land and a poultry farm on 6 February and injuring four Palestinians during multiple airstrikes on 27 February. Both incidents occurred after rockets fired from Gaza landed in southern Israel, causing no injuries or damage.

Seven Palestinians were killed in Gaza tunnels during February.

Hamas authorities in Gaza accused Egypt of filling a tunnel with poisonous gas that caused three workers to suffocate to death. Another worker died when Egypt flooded the tunnel he was in.

Two more tunnel workers were killed in what the Gaza ministry of health said was an Israeli airstrike on Rafah in southern Gaza, but the Israeli military denied involvement in the reported strike.

A fighter with the Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, died when a tunnel used for “resistance” purposes collapsed on him.

Rafah crossing, the sole point of exit and entry for the vast majority of the 2 million Palestinians in Gaza, was opened for three days for entry to Egypt and one day for exit to Gaza, allowing more than 1,500 Palestinians to leave and nearly 1,400 to return to Gaza.

Rafah was closed by Egypt in October 2014 and is opened with rare exception. The crossing was partially opened only 44 days last year.

“According to the Palestinian authorities in Gaza, over 20,000 people, including humanitarian cases, are registered and waiting to cross,” the United Nations monitoring group OCHA reported in February.

Disparate sentences

An Israeli army medic was sentenced to 18 months in prison for shooting an immobilized Palestinian in the head last year, killing him, while an Israeli who stabbed and injured another Israeli who he mistook for a Palestinian was sentenced to 11 years imprisonment.

Palestinian teens, one of them a minor, were sentenced to 12 years and 15 years imprisonment for stabbing attacks on Israelis. A 16-year-old Palestinian girl was sentenced to 6 years in prison after Israeli police found a knife in her bag.

Police forces evacuated two West Bank settlement outposts not authorized by the Israeli government during the month.

Israel tightened restrictions on Palestinian movement throughout the Ramallah area during the evacuation of 250 settlers from Amona. “This negatively affected the movement of tens of thousands of Palestinians, particularly those commuting between the northern and southern West Bank,” OCHA reported.

Dozens of police officers were reportedly injured during the Amona operation, according to OCHA, while a police spokesperson told media that 11 officers sustained “minor bruises and even bites” during the evacuation of nine unauthorized homes in Ofra settlement.

Meanwhile, Israel’s parliament, the Knesset, passed a bill that would retroactively legalize the expropriation of privately owned Palestinian land throughout the West Bank.

Bedouin villages under threat

The Bedouin village of al-Araqib in southern Israel was demolished for the 109th time and Israel delivered stop work and demolition orders against nearly all structures in the Bedouin community of Khan al-Ahmar near Jerusalem.

“Among the targeted structures is a donor-funded primary school made of tires and mud, which serves around 170 children from five Palestinian Bedouin communities,” OCHA reported.

“Khan al-Ahmar is one of the most vulnerable communities in the West Bank, struggling to maintain a minimum standard of living in the face of intense pressure from the Israeli authorities to move to a planned relocation site,” stated Robert Piper, the UN Coordinator for Humanitarian Aid and Development Activities for the occupied Palestinian territory.

Two people, including a child, were killed during fighting in Ein al-Hilweh, the largest Palestinian refugee camp in Lebanon.

The Action Group for Palestinians in Syria reported that 25 Palestinians died as a result of the ongoing war there during February.

Fifteen were said to be combatants killed during fighting alongside both government and opposition forces. Two were executed by Islamic State fighters. Another two were reportedly killed under torture in Syrian government detention, and several more were killed by sniper fire, shelling and in air strikes.

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Why the battle for Manbij will make or break Trump's relations with Turkey

Ankara's plans for safe zone could see it fighting against US-backed allies in Syria

Ahmed al-Burai-Friday 3 March 2017

On 12 February, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan told journalists that the Turkish army will press on to Islamic State-held Raqqa.

"After Al-Bab is over, our next target will be Manbij and Raqqa," he said. Recently, Turkish armed forces and its allied Free Syrian Army have almost seized full control of the strategic town of Al-Bab in northern Syria.

Manbij will serve as the first real test of the alleged change in Washington’s Syrian policy under US President Donald Trump

Initially, Turkey embarked on its “Euphrates Shield” operation to realise three primary objectives:

• Cleanse the northern stretch of Syria from the blood-soaked cult of IS, which has carried out brutal attacks against Turkish targets not only in Syria but also in Turkey
• Create a buffer zone along the Turkish-Syrian border provinces
• Preclude the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) from establishing their autonomous canton on the threshold of Turkey

Turkey views the YPG as an outlawed, aggressive militia and a splinter of the banned PKK, that has waged an armed mutiny against Turkey for over three decades.

At a amp in the northern Syrian town of Rmeilane, fighters take part in a nine month obligatory training led by the YPG (AFP)

To achieve these goals, retaking the strategic city of Al-Bab is not enough. That’s why  Erdogan proclaimed that Turkey's cross-border military operation in northern Syria will create a 5,000sq km “safe zone” and to achieve that the Turkish incursion needs to press on towards Raqqa and Manbij.

For Turkey, Manbij is the next inevitable target for two main reasons. First, Manbij was captured last year by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) that are backed by the US and, at the same time, listed by Turkey as a terrorist offshoot of the outlawed PKK.

• READ - The next couple days will decide the future of US-Turkish relations, says Turkish official

Secondly, the Obama administration's support of the Kurdish militias which it claimed were the most effective combat force fighting IS blatantly disregarded Turkish concerns, jeopardising strategic relations with its primary ally in the region.

So Manbij will serve as the first real test of the alleged change in Washington’s Syrian policy under US President Donald Trump. 

Trump doctrine

Though Trump’s pundits claim that he might change his mind on many issues, it seems that he’s been consistent on Middle East policy. On the one hand, his policy - or at least what he's claimed he will do - tends to avoid direct involvement in a quagmire that has extended into a regional proxy war.

American strategists unanimously agree that to defeat IS, Trump has to choose a regional ally - Turkey, SDF, Russia or even the Syrian regime

On the other hand, he believes that the Obama administration's investment in moderate Syrian rebels was extravagant. As he said soon after he was elected, "we have no idea who these people are”. He argues that while those US-backed “moderate rebels” are fighting Bashar al-Assad’s regime, the US should instead expend all of its efforts on fighting and defeating IS. The question is how?

During his electoral campaign, Trump vowed repeatedly that his main priority would be to defeat IS. When he took office, he ordered his security advisors to develop a roadmap to defeat the group within a month. He vehemently affirmed that the US has to “start winning wars again” and, only this week, proposed a defence spending boost of $54bn.

American strategists unanimously agree that to defeat IS, Trump has to choose a regional ally - Turkey, SDF, Russia or even the Syrian regime. Turkey has set out its prerequisites for any regional coordination with Trump: the new US administration needs to stop backing Syrian Kurdish militias that have recently displayed photos of armoured vehicles that they’ve allegedly received from the Trump administration. Washington has denied this.

• READ - US bombs al-Qaeda in second day of attacks in Yemen

Also, Turkey is cautiously skeptical of Trump's plan to create safe zones in Syria. Trump pledged to “absolutely do safe zones in Syria for the people”. The question, again, is how? Ankara says that it has not been thoroughly consulted on safe zones, while Moscow has advised Washington not to exacerbate the situation in Syria. 

What’s after Al-Bab?

The coming few days will be critical in deciding the future of US-Turkish relations. In the meantime, Turkey is persisting with its cross-border operations and, in order to secure the success of "Euphrates Shield", will need to prepare to recapture Manbij from the SDF.

If the SDF evacuates Manbij, Turkey would find itself fighting Assad and Iranian militias directly, a worst-case scenario that Turkey is eager to avoid 

However, it might face genuine challenges. Assad forces are moving fast toward the south east of the Al-Bab countryside to halt the progress of the Turkish army and Turkish-backed forces.

On Thursday, the Manbij miitary council, which is part of the SDF, agreed to hand over areas west of town to Syrian government troops. 

Looking ahead, it's possible the SDF could evacuate the town, leaving it to Assad’s forces. If that happens, Turkey would find itself fighting Assad and Iranian militias directly, a worst-case scenario that Turkey is eager to avoid simply because it would not only exhaust it militarily, but would also drive a strong wedge between Ankara and Moscow.

• READ - The inevitable confrontation between Turkey and Syrian Kurds

On the other hand, Turkey is busy on the home front preparing for the coming constitutional referendum scheduled for 16 April. So, at this particular stage, Ankara is not interested in any uncalculated escalation in Syria that could cast dark shadows on the pending reforms.

If Ankara decides to go on with its offensive and push SDF out of Manbij without US consent, then the scenario of Jarabulus operation - where Turkey and the US risked being on opposite sides of the fight for the border town last year - might be repeated. Ankara’s unilateral ground progress could lead to undesired reactions from its American ally as happened at the outset of “Euphrates Shield”.  

Backing SDF - or Assad?

So, for Trump, the coming few days will determine the nature of cooperation with Turkey. Trump might decide to go on supporting the Kurdish militias and, if that happens, the case is closed and tension could lead to a diplomatic and political rift between Ankara and Washington.

In Trump’s doctrine, it’s not unconvincing or implausible to whitewash Assad and take him as a regional partner  

Over the past few days, the SDF launched proactive attacks in its Raqqa offensive, aiming to retake towns and villages east of the city. The SDF is clearly trying to present its credentials to the US-led coalition under Trump. The US-led coalition has promptly answered in kind, bombarding several bridges across the Euphrates River in support of SDF operations.

The last potential option for Trump is Assad himself. Assad’s endeavours to get closer to Trump have been clearly visible. Assad claims that Trump could be a "natural ally" and that his pledge to fight IS is "promising". Trump himself has been reiterating that the existence of leaders like Gaddafi, Saddam Hussein, and Assad is much better than the chaos and vacuum that their toppling has created. And he publicly flirts with the idea of normalising relations with Syria should Assad undertake superficial reforms.

• READ - Trump plans biggest US military budget increase since Iraq war

In Trump’s doctrine, it’s not unconvincing or implausible to whitewash Assad and take him as a regional partner. As long as Assad is able to present himself as a strong autocrat who is able to crackdown on IS and maintain some measure of stability, Trump wouldn’t have a problem in coordinating with him.

Turkish-American relations sit on the brink of a steep cliff and the potential for further conflict is clear, unless Turkey, the US and Russia manage to achieve a compromise a deal that alleviates the tension and satisfies each party’s regional strategic aspirations.

It’s really unfortunate that the Syrian spring was not able to produce a representative elite that meets popular expectations and respects the people’s heroic sacrifices in one of the unprecedented epics of recent history. Sooner or later, foes and friends need to recognise that the Syrian nation will be the sole determiner of its future.

- Ahmed al-Burai is a lecturer at Istanbul Aydin University. He worked with BBC World Service Trust and LA Times in Gaza. He is currently based in Istanbul and mainly interested in the Middle East issues. You can follow him on Twitter @ahmedalburai1

The views expressed in this article belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Middle East Eye.

Image: This file photo taken on September 02, 2016 shows Turkish soldiers driving back to Turkey from the Syrian-Turkish border town of Jarabulus. Turkey on March 2, 2017, threatened to strike Syrian Kurdish militia forces if they do not withdraw from Manbij, a former bastion of the Islamic State (IS) group that has been taken over by predominantly Kurdish forces (AFP)