Chathurika Hoodwinks Public; “Janadhipathy Thaththa” Written By Sachini Navarathne

SEPTEMBER 17, 2017

The purported “daughter’s account” of President Maithripala Sirisena, titled ‘Janadhipathi Thaththa (‘Presidential Father’)’ was not written by his daughter Chathurika Sirisena, Colombo Telegraph can reveal today.

Chathurika

The book, was in fact written by Sachini Navarathne, an employee of Media Gang, which is an advertising agency owned by Ms Sirisena. The final proof was read by the President’s Media Advisor and former Editor-in-Chief of the Divaina (Sunday) Gamini Sumanasekera.

The much-hyped launch of the book took place at the BMICH on the 15th of September and was attended by almost half the cabinet of ministers.

Ms Sirisena’s ‘knowledge of Sinhala literature’ came in for high praise by novelist Kathleen Jayawardena at the launch, but it is now apparent that Ms Sirisena’s contribution was minimal and amounted to a recounting of personal memories which were transcribed and put together by Ms Navarathne

It was pointed out by a critic that while it is not unusual for books about political elites to be written by ghostwriters it is surprising that one speaker grandly stated that it was the first time that a ‘first child’ had written about a presidential parent in this country.

“The burning issue is not about who actually wrote the book but whether state funds were used for the purpose and for the grand tamasha that was the launch,” the critic said.

Ms Sirisena had no involvement in advertising until her father became President. Thereafter she ‘hijacked’ an advertising agency called ‘Media Gang’ which is run mostly on work commissioned by state agencies. Sumanasekera, as mentioned, not only owes his salary to the tax-payer but does not do a stroke of work, according to reliable sources.

As such the book has essentially been funded by tax payer’s money since the true author’s salary is paid thanks to government ads while the editor is also an employee of the state.

The entire charade brings to mind a similar biography, ‘CBK,’ written in 2005 about the former president Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga. The then Attorney General objected when it was found that state funds were channeled through the Port Authority for the purpose of writing the book. This book project was scrapped subsequently due to many inaccuracies even though the true author, a British national had been paid an advance of US $ 20,000.

Watch the full video of the launch of ‘Ms Sirisena’s book’

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he Hope in Hopelessness

"Ill at ease in the tyranny, ill at ease in the republic,In the one I longed for freedom,in the other the end of corruption."
Czelaw Milosz (To Raja Rao)

by Tisaranee Gunasekara-September 16, 2017, 6:38 pm 

"All fear punishment, all fear death, comparing oneself with others, one should neither kill nor cause to kill." That was Siddhartha Gautama, the Buddha, as rendered in the Danda Vagga (The Rod of Punishment) of the Dhamma Pada. That injunction against causing hurt, harm or death covers not just all humans but all living beings. That one stanza would have sufficed to prevent the unfolding tragedy of the Rohingya people, had Buddhists of Myanmar paid even an iota of attention to what Buddha taught.

But in Myanmar, as in Sri Lanka, the Buddha’s teachings, especially his unequivocal and total rejection of violence, are being observed only in the breach. According to latest UN statistics almost 400,000 Roping people, men, women and children, had fled their homes to Bangladesh, triggering a massive humanitarian crisis. The fact that this ethnic-cleansing is being committed in the name of Buddha and Buddhism demonstrates that the contagion of violent-intolerance is not the legacy of any one religion.

Divide and rule did not end with colonialism. The generals who controlled Myanmar during much of its post-independent history fanned the flames of religio-racial hatred against the Rohingya minority as a way of gaining Buddhist-Burman support. The Rohingyas served as ideal scapegoats – Muslims in a land of Buddhists, different and alien in many ways, from cultural practices to skin colour. But the generals alone could not have succeeded in transforming quotidian suspicion and dislike on the part of ordinary Burmese into an all consuming phobia and hatred. That radical change was made possible by the work done by a segment of Burmese Buddhist monks, especially those associated with Ashin Wirathu’s 969 Movement and its successor, MaBaTha. These extremists monks embraced of blood-and-faith nationalism and turned visceral hatred of Rohingya Buddhism into a new article of faith. They rendered religio-racial hatred respectable and popular; they made it seem compatible with democracy, and depicted it as necessary to the protection of Burmese Buddhism.

Ashin Wirathu, the ‘Burmese Bin Laden’ was here in Colombo exactly three years ago. That was September 2014. The Bodu Bala Sena was flying high, thanks to the patronage of the government in general and Gotabhaya Rajapaksa in particular. Wirathu came to attend the BBS organised Sangha Convention which was held at the Sugathadasa Stadium. By that time his 969 movement had been effectively banned by Myanmar’s Sangha Council, "the government-appointed body of monks that oversees and regulates the Buddhist clergy."i The Rajapaksa administration could have refused him a visa, without angering the Myanmar government. But the regime not only gave him a visa; he entered Sri Lanka "via the VIP lounge and whisked to a safe place," as the BBS boasted on its facebook page.

Wirathu, who has mastered the art of spewing incendiary words while maintaining a facade of serenity, (unlike most of his Lankan counterparts) promised that his 969 movement will work with the BBS to protect Buddhism in Asia from the ‘Jihadist threat’. The CEO of the BBS declared that the name of Sri Lanka should be changed to Sinhale, that Lankan-Tamils must be renamed Sinhala-Tamils and Lankan Muslims Sinhala-Muslims. Only Sinhala-Buddhist culture should be allowed. The BBS would soon present a new constitutional-blueprint which would include these and other changes. Galagoda-Atte Gnanasara attacked Rev. Sobhita Thero for promoting the idea of a common candidate and spoke in defence of the executive presidential system. The BBS Convention was clearly an attempt to incite Sinhala-Buddhist fears and harness them to the Rajapaksa chariot, in time for an early presidential election.

Had Mahinda Rajapaksa won in January 2015, he would not have implemented any of the more insane ideas advocated by the BBS. For him, as for Burmese generals, minority-phobia is, first and foremost, a politico-electoral weapon, an indispensable one. But during a Rajapaksa third-term the BBS would have continued to ride roughshod over minorities, thereby rendering other Aluthgamas not only possible, but also inevitable.

Where Myanmar is today would have been the direction in which we too were headed.

Feet of Clay

The Rohingya people suffered violence and discrimination for decades without resorting to counter-violence. When peaceful and democratic resistance fail, those who advocate counter-violence as the only possible-solution gain upper-hand. Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) was formed by Rohingya exiles living in Saudi Arabia, according to a report by the International Crisis Group. The group, which is reportedly being funded by wealthy Saudis and Pakistanis, had mounted several attacks on Burmese security forces. The latest such attack served as the excuse for the current round of anti-Rohingya bloodletting. As ever extremists on either side are serving each other’s interests. The mass-killings and expulsion of Rohingyas would provide more fodder to the ARSA, both in terms of money and recruits. There is a real danger of unemployed IS fighters on the lookout for a new cause and a new battlefront making their way to the land of thousand pagodas. This in turn will strengthen Buddhist extremists and their project of ethnic-cleansing. The ordinary people, caught in the middle, will suffer and die.

What is happening in Myanmar today is not dissimilar to what happened in Sri Lanka, post-Black July. What is happening in Myanmar might have been our fate too, had the Rajapaksas won the presidential election. What better excuse for the total dismantling of democracy, what better justification for enhanced repression than a ‘Jihadist-threat’?

Democracy saved us from that horrendous fate. Unfortunately democracy couldn’t do the same for Myanmar.

The tragedy unfolding in Myanmar also demonstrates the danger of placing politicians on pedestals. No politician is immune to the corrupting lure of power, as Aung San Suu Kyi’s fall from grace proves.

In Myanmar, the generals still control a large chunk of power. State Councillor Suu Kyi is still vulnerable to a coup. She couldn’t have prevented the attacks on Rohingya civilians even if she had wanted to, because she has no control over the military. Resisting calls by Ashan Wirathu and other extremists to impose martial law is probably as far as she could realistically go. But she could have spoken out, at least to express sympathy with the innocent victims, as fellow human beings. She could have invoked the true teachings of the Buddha against his spurious followers who are murdering, raping and pillaging in his name.

Myanmar’s tragedy is only beginning. By allowing/facilitating ethnic-cleansing, the country’s rulers have opened the door to a war which would impact devastatingly on all people of Myanmar. Sooner or later, there will be more attacks by ARSA including on civilian targets. As the cycle of violence spins ever faster, the military will use it to regain what power they lost due to democracy’s advent. Aung San Suu Kyi failed to do the right thing because she wanted to hang on to power. But by failing to do the right thing, she had paved the way to her eventual ejection from power.

For all its faults – and the faults are many – the Sirisena-Wickremesinghe government does not support blood-and-faith nationalism, yet. But it remains vulnerable to Sinhala-Buddhist extremism, especially if the economic conditions of ordinary people fail to improve fast.

Opposition to a new constitution and anti-federalism seem to be the keystones of the Gotabhaya-led movement to restore Rajapaksa-power, for now. But come election time, the Rajapaksas are likely to bring out other slogans and other bogies, especially rehashed narratives about renewed Tiger threats and new Jihadist threats. If the Sirisena-Wickremesinghe administration fails to improve its performance in the coming months, the incendiary rhetoric of blood-and-faith nationalism might find too many receptive ears in Sri Lanka as it did in Myanmar.

The Defenders of Impunity

The Central Bank bond scam proves that power corrupts. Its aftermath demonstrates that in a democracy impunity is not destiny; that we, the people, have the capacity to demand and obtain a modicum of accountability if not justice.

If the authors of the bond scam had been blessed with the power of foreseeing, would they have done what they did? The answer is, probably, no.

The bond scam was grounded in a belief of impunity. Its authors and their underlings would have thought they’d be safe from discovery, let alone from eventual prosecution, given their exalted positions and powerful connections. They had been proven wrong, spectacularly.

The work of the Presidential Commission, the Attorney General Department and the various investigative organisations indicate that the era of impunity is over. Corruption has not been eradicated, but the corrupt can no longer be certain they’d get away with their financial crimes. That sends a powerful message to politicians, officials and business magnates - they cannot count on impunity all the time, as they once did.

This warning message is enhanced by the recent verdict against Lalith Weeratunga and Anusha Pelpita.

Former President Rajapaksa has admitted that he gave the order to use state funds to distribute sil-redi during an election season. He clearly sees nothing wrong with what he did. As far as he is concerned, laws, especially election laws, are there to be broken. He doesn’t understand the fuss; he certainly doesn’t understand the verdict. His honest bemusement is proof positive that he is as wedded to impunity now as he ever was. In his unrepentant eyes, the law is there to punish the poor, the powerless and political enemies. He, his kith, kin and acolytes are above the law.

Unlike the former president, Mr. Weeratunga and Mr. Pelpita would have known that using state funds to distribute sil-redi four days before the presidential election amounted to a clear violation of election laws. They knew they were doing something wrong, and they didn’t care, because they never thought they’d lose.

If the purpose of the sil-redi exercise was the wellbeing of Buddhists, as the former president claims, the distribution could have been postponed until Nawam poya, just a month away. According to media reports, the presiding judge had wanted to know whether all those who observed sil were subjected to some natural calamity which destroyed their sil-redi. The answer of course was no. The emergency was not natural; it was politico-electoral, the urgent need to offer one more bribe to Sinhala-Buddhist voters on behalf of Candidate Rajapaksa. Mr. Weeratunga and Mr. Pelpita facilitated that bribe, knowing it was a bribe. There’s no way they could be innocent of misappropriating state funds, of breaking election laws.

Again, according to media reports, Mr. Weeratunga sought to defend his actions by saying that if the distribution of sil-redi is found to be wrong, all state officials will stop taking urgent decisions during emergencies. The judge reportedly pointed out that there is a circular on how officials should respond to emergencies and as the secretary to the president, Mr. Weeratunga should have been aware of this fact.

Taken together, the bond scam investigation and the sil-redi verdict are beacons of hope in a dark time, because they provide a kind or roadmap for a future which is better than the past or the present. In conjunction, the two cases demonstrate that Sri Lanka can be saved from utter ruin – not by ‘I’m the Saviour’ politicians, but by good laws and strong institutions which can withstand partisan pressure, a vibrant media and an engaged public.

i https://www.crisisgroup.org/asia/south-east-asia/myanmar/290-buddhism-and-state-power-myanmar

‘Capacity To Pay’, ‘Ability To Pay’ Govt’s New Rates Question Tax Principles

By Paneetha Ameresekere-2017-09-17

A standard statement by tax consultant N.R. Gajendran when addressing tax seminars, used to be, that the Government's tax policy should be based upon the principle of the taxpayer's 'ability to pay' and the 'capacity to pay'.

In this context, the Government's move, led by Premier Ranil Wickremesinghe to reduce indirect taxes from the current 80% to 60%, while doubling direct taxes from the present 20% to 40%, is a good move.

The logic behind this move, as one of my bosses put it to me succinctly the other day was, why should a man earning

Rs 25,000 a month pay Rs 50 for a loaf of bread, whereas another earning four times that salary at Rs 100,000, also be paying Rs 50 for that same loaf of bread?

His reasoning was that should not the man earning a higher income be made to pay higher or more taxes and thereby reduce the indirect tax burden such as those levied on a loaf of bread, thereby reducing the price of bread and making it more affordable to the low income earner making only Rs 25,000 a month?

It may be impractical to have a two tier or multiple tier tax regime for consumables such as bread vis-à-vis their retail prices, by making the rich pay more for a loaf of bread and the poor, a lesser price. How is the trader to identify who's a rich or a poor customer to levy the 'appropriate' tax rates?
But what may be done, is to either reduce or take off the tax completely on bread, while at the same time increasing the direct tax on those, in Gajendran's words, who have 'the ability to pay' and the 'capacity to pay.'

It is in this context that one has to look at the increase of two direct taxes in the new Inland Revenue Act that was passed in Parliament recently, which questions the fact that when those new taxes percolate down to the end user, whether the taxpayer (either direct or indirect), has the 'ability to pay' and the 'capacity to pay'.

One of those two controversial taxes is the carte blanche Withholding Tax (WHT) of 5% to be levied on interest earned on fixed income instruments such as fixed deposits (FDs), i.e. a doubling of the current WHT rate of 2.5%, to 5% once the new Inland Revenue Act comes into force in April 2018.
The other, is the increase of the Standard Tax regime for companies in the Healthcare Sector, from 12% to 28%.

Therefore, the proposal to hike the tax in the healthcare sector from the present 12% to 28%, is a 16 percentage point or a 133.33% increase. This new tax too will be effective from April next year. In fact, all of the tax proposals under the new Inland Revenue Act will be effective from April 2018.

On the subject of the increase in WHT on interest earned on instruments such as FDs, there may be a question of fairness in levying such a tax, carte blanche, vis-a-vis a person who lives off from such an income, say, an earning of Rs 25,000 per month of interest income and another person who is earning four times that amount, i.e. Rs 100,000 per month.

Such a scenario may be similar to the aforesaid example of a person earning a salary of Rs 25,000 having to pay Rs 50 for his loaf of bread, while another person earning Rs 100,000, also having to pay 'only' Rs 50 for that same loaf of bread, instead of being taxed more.

It's not that this newspaper is advocating that bread should be taxed on an ascending or sliding scale depending on a person's income, where a person earning 'less' would be charged a lower tax on his loaf of bread, while the person who is earning a 'higher' income should be charged a higher tax on his bread, that way ensuring that Government suffers no revenue loss due to a sliding/ascending tax rate applied to an essential commodity like a loaf of bread. Such a scheme, as explained above, is not viable.

WHT on such interest receipts was first introduced by the cash starved Mahinda Rajapaksa regime, where such a WHT first became effective from 1 April 2011. However, at the time, an individual earning a maximum of Rs 500,000 as interest income didn't come under this particular WHT regime.
Initially, when this taxation scheme was introduced, i.e. effective from the financial year 1 April 2011, the minimum rate applicable was 2.5% for individuals earning an interest income of between Rs 500,000 and Rs 1.5 million annually. Anyone earning a higher interest income was subjected to a WHT of 8% on such earnings.

1 April 2011 was the genesis of the WHT regime vis-à-vis interest earned on deposits by individuals. Four years later, on 8 January 2015, the present regime was elected to power, bringing in political and economic changes to the old order, for better or for worse.

The new Government, similar to the previous regime, has also been strapped for cash. While the former government restricted the application of the WHT on deposit interests of those earning more than Rs 500,000 per annum, the present regime, carte blanche, made it applicable to any value earned vis-à-vis deposit interest, doing away with Rajapaksa's minimum deposit interest income threshold.
If an individual earned a deposit interest income of Rs 1,000 per annum, that income was also subjected to a 2.5% WHT under the new regulations, effective from 1 April 2015. Similarly, if a person who earned a Rs 1,500,000 interest income per annum, that person too was subjected to a 2.5% WHT.

Though the WHT may be construed as a direct tax, the carte blanche application of the WHT on interest income, regardless of the value of such an income, however, brings to question, whether such a blanket application of the WHT on deposit interest income, may violate the tax principle of the taxpayer's 'ability to pay' and the 'capacity to pay.'

Matters have been made worse where, under the new Inland Revenue Act passed by Parliament this month, this WHT on deposit interest has been doubled to 5%. The seeming saving grace is that seniors, which the Inland Revenue Department defines as those who are above 60 years of age, earning an interest income of a maximum of Rs 1.5 million per annum, are however not subjected to this new 5% WHT regime.

The retiring age in public service is 55 years, with extensions, such a person may work up to 60 years. A public servant therefore is cushioned by the fact that he can be employed till he's 60 years of age, thereby being assured of a monthly salary till he reaches the 'actual' retirement age of 60 years.

Therefore, whatever gratuity he may get as a retired public servant, he may place it in the form of a deposit such as an FD, which would provide him with an annual interest income. If such an annual interest income is below Rs 1.5 million, that individual is not liable to pay a WHT on such interest earned on an FD. In addition, a retired public servant also earns a monthly pension.

But, in the case of the private sector employee, the retirement age is 55 years. Such a retired individual's FD, made after collecting his retirement benefits, whether such interest earned is a 'low' Rs 100,000 per annum or a higher rate of more than Rs 1.5 million, will, under the new tax regime, be subjected to a WHT of 5% until he reaches 60 years of age.

Even though that individual may be considered a senior citizen according to the Monetary Board's (MB's) definition, where, an individual is over 55 years thereby being entitled to a higher deposit rate, all those gains may be negated due to the ascendancy of the higher WHT regime of 5% from 1 April.

28% Healthcare Tax

Likewise, the Healthcare Company Tax, which stood at 12% even during the former regime, will be hiked up to 28% to be on par with the standard company tax regime, with effect from April next year.
Passing tax liabilities to the end user is an economic reality in the marketplace. Whereas company taxation is a form of a direct tax, passing down such taxes is an indirect cost to the consumer, in this instance, the patient.

Therefore, there is a likelihood of patients' bills going up after 1 April due to the higher healthcare company taxes operable from then onwards. Such increases, however, in the case of doctor's channelling charges, have an upper limit of Rs 2,000 by law. Similarly, in the case of certain drugs, there is a price ceiling.

But the market, whether it be the healthcare sector, or any other sector, knows how to circumvent such price caps. They may levy higher charges for other healthcare services offered in order to recoup the extra costs or alternatively, they may not import those drugs whose prices are controlled by the Government, or may import cheaper drugs of inferior quality.

Former UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) Secretary General Supachai Panitchpakdi, speaking at a forum organized by the Retailers' Association in Colombo last week, said that rising income disparities were more worrying to the UN than 'climate change.'

He said that the effect of these inequalities was that those who invest in real estate, bonds and equities, find their income levels rising faster than the rest of society.


Panitchpakdi may provide a solution to the Government's low tax revenue, thereby avoiding taxing carte blanche, on those who live off interest income, while at the same time ensuring that patients don't end up with higher hospital bills due to the current regime's higher tax policy for the health sector.

Staggering Rs. 1,080,860,238 loss to country after duping Cabinet ! -Who else can cause that except the notorious Ranatunge Bros. ?

(Lanka-e-News - 15.Sep.2017, 11.45PM)  Minister Arjuna Ranatunge and his brother Dhammika Ranatunge  by delaying  the Term tenders for supplies  which were  approved by   the Special Standing procurement committee appointed by the Cabinet (SSCAPC) ,the country incurred staggering  loss of Rs. 1080 million (Rs. 1.08  billion ! ) , based on reports supported by evidence reaching Lanka e news 

The SSCAPC on the recommendations of the Technical evaluation Committee(TEC) of the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC)  approved three term tenders for supplies via 23 shipments .

To the dismay of all concerned , in spite of the fact that the SSCAP has granted the approval , and about a month had elapsed , the cabinet memoranda that should be tabled before the cabinet had not been done by Arjuna Ranatunge, the minister of petroleum resources.

The three term tenders should be awarded by 2017-08-03  , yet the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation had avoided that , and awarded  3 spot tenders hastily despite the fact it is possible to purchase the products at much lower prices under the term tenders approved by   the SSCAP . Another spot tender Ref.  BK /71/ 2017 was to be closed on 2017-09-07 .

The spot tenders under CPC Ref. Nos. BK/65/2017, BK/69/2017  and BK/70/2017 which were approved in August have engendered a staggering loss of US dollars 7,064,446.00 to the country  ! and the rupee equivalent of this amount is Rs. 1,080,860, 238 ! (at Rs. 153.00 per dollar) , that is, over Rs. 1080 million !!

It is obvious the notorious inseparable Ranatunge brothers (in rackets)  who have a putrid antecedence of breaking  world records when it relates to defrauding  and wasting  public funds , are  once again engaging in these traitorous tactics to make a fast buck and line their pockets with colossal commissions, and for no other reason, at the expense of national interests. 

The details of the three tenders authorized by the SSCAP , and the 3 spot tenders which were closed  engendering staggering losses to the country can be viewed by clicking on the image hereunder.

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by     (2017-09-16 20:38:25)

Video: Soldiers assault woman who resists as they weld her door shut

Ali Abunimah- 15 September 2017

This video shows Israeli occupation forces violently assaulting and attempting to handcuff 55-year-old Zleikhah al-Muhtaseb in a family-owned building in the occupied West Bank city of Hebron.

Israeli forces invaded the home in order weld shut one of its two entrances, and Zleikhah tried to stop them.

Zleikhah’s niece Rania al-Muhtaseb lives in the building with her husband Bassem and their three children.

The building has a back door towards Hebron’s market, and a front entrance towards the Ibrahimi mosque.

The front entrance goes out into an area heavily controlled by Israeli occupation forces, which family members cannot easily cross except by passing through military checkpoints.

Trapped by checkpoints

When the Israeli soldiers showed up at the house on 13 August, Rania called her aunt, one of the buildings owners, who lives in Hebron’s Old City.

“She arrived within half an hour,” Rania told the human rights group B’Tselem. “The officers were trying to screw the door shut just as she came in. She went up to them and tried to stop them. She pressed herself against the door and held on to it. The female soldier tried to get her away from the door, but couldn’t.”

What happened next can be seen in the video above, filmed by Rania.

Israeli forces did eventually weld the door shut, causing the family considerable hardship.

“Before they welded the back door shut, I would go in and out of the house through the market,” Bassem explained. “Now, I have to get home by walking on the rooftops of the houses near the market. It’s dangerous at night, because the military watches the rooftops in the area.”

The alternative is to go through one of the military checkpoints, where Palestinians face long delays and routine harassment.

“On top of this, my wife is pregnant, and I’m worried she’ll go into labor at night and we’ll have to get to hospital,” Bassem added, noting that occupation forces rarely agree to open the emergency gate in the checkpoint.

No excuse

“The excuse provided by the security forces that the measure was needed to prevent ‘suspects’ from going through the house is unfounded and has no basis in reality,” B’Tselem said.

“Even if there were any truth to it, it could not justify such severe harm to the al-Muhtaseb family,” B’Tselem added. “This case is another example of Israel’s policy of segregation and restrictions on Palestinian movement in central Hebron, coupled with abuse, violence and daily harassment by security forces and settlers.”

As a result, life in the Old City of Hebron has become intolerable for Palestinians, and thousands have left the area – likely the intended goal of Israel’s policies.

Several hundred Israeli settlers protected by the Israeli army live in the vicinity of the Ibrahimi mosque, in Hebron’s Old City.

In 1994, an American Jewish settler from the nearby colony of Kiryat Arba massacred 29 Palestinians inside the mosque, which Muslims and Jews believe marks the spot where the bibilical prophet Abraham is buried.

Since then, Israel has attempted to consolidate its hold on the heart of the city with ever tighter restrictions on Palestinians, including segregated roads and violent settler takeovers of homes.

On Friday, Palestinians in Hebron marched after noon prayers to protest Israel’s expansion of municipal services to the settlers in the Old City, a move Palestinians fear will further consolidate their grip.

According to the Ma’an News Agency, Israeli forces attacked the peaceful marchers with tear gas.

Turkey summons German envoy over Kurdish rally held in in Cologne

Merkel says no choice but to restrict economic ties with Turkey to pressure it into releasing detained German citizens

Woman takes selfie with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, center, as she continues on election campaign trail in Stralsund on Saturday, week before Germans head to polls (AFP)

Saturday 16 September 2017 

Woman takes selfie with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, center, as she continues on election campaign trail in Stralsund on Saturday, week before Germans head to polls (AFP)

Turkey summoned the German ambassador to Ankara on Saturday over what it said was a Kurdish militant rally in Cologne, the foreign ministry said, in a further sign of strained relations between the NATO allies.

"We condemn the organisation of a rally in the German city of Cologne by the extensions of the PKK terrorist organisations, and the allowing of terror propaganda. We have voiced our reaction in a strong manner to Germany's ambassador to Ankara, who was called to the ministry," it said.

State-run Anadolu news agency said Kurdish supporters demonstrated in Cologne on Saturday, carrying posters calling for the release of Abdullah Ocalan, the jailed leader of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), which is listed as a terrorist group by the European Union and the United States, and is banned in Germany. The outlawed PKK has waged an insurgency in Kurdish majority southeast Turkey since 1984.

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Happening Now: more than 30 thousand Kurds have gathered in Cologne
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The statement criticised German authorities for allowing Ocalan's posters to be unfurled and group leaders' messages to be read out during the rally. Turkey has previously accused Germany of not doing enough to stop PKK activities.

"The double standard approach Germany has been following with regards to the global fight against terrorism is worrying. We call on Germany to show a principled stance against all kinds of terror," the ministry said.

Turkey’s relations with Europe, particularly Germany, have been strained since President Tayyip Erdogan launched a crackdown after a failed coup last year.

More than 50,000 people have been jailed pending trial and about 150,000 people, including journalists and opposition figures, have been sacked or suspended from their jobs.

Relations further deteriorated after the detention of several German citizens including Deniz Yucel, a correspondent for Die Welt newspaper, prompting Berlin to announce a full review of relations and to sharpen its travel advisory.

Germany has criticised the mass arrests, refused to extradite people Turkey says were involved in the putsch attempt and demanded the release of German citizens arrested in recent months

Germany's Merkel may restrict ties

Chancellor Angela Merkel, meanwhile, said in remarks published on Saturday that Germany will have no choice but to restrict its economic ties with Turkey to pressure it into releasing German citizens imprisoned on political grounds.

"We will have to further cut back our joint economic cooperation with Turkey and scrutinise projects," Merkel told the Passauer Neuen Presse newspaper in an interview when asked how she wants to secure the release of Germans held in Turkey.

The simmering tensions have seeped into campaigning for a federal election in Germany, especially after Erdogan urged German Turks to boycott the main parties in the vote on 24 September.

Home to some 3 million people of Turkish descent, Germany has traditionally had good relations with Turkey, which is also a major trade partner and tourist destination for German sun-seekers.

German officials have been enraged by Turkey's arrests of German citizens, including the German-Turkish journalist Yucel, who has been held for more than 200 days.

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Chancellor Angela Merkel, known to many Germans simply as "Mutti," or Mom, is seeking a fourth term. http://apne.ws/1QwvoD2 

7:08 AM - Sep 16, 2017

Germany's Merkel: flexible in politics and modest in private

BERLIN (AP) — She's been named the world's most powerful woman, seen off a series of domestic rivals and led an unsentimental response to Europe's debt crisis. But to many Germans

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Merkel, whose conservatives are expected to win the election and secure her a fourth term in office, said on Tuesday that Germany would restrict some arms sales to Turkey.

Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel of the centre-left Social Democrats, who are trailing the conservatives in opinion polls, had earlier said that all major arms exports to Turkey had been put on hold.

Merkel said during a televised debate earlier this month that Turkey should not become a member of the European Union - Turkey's largest trading partner with which it has a customs union.

She said she would talk to Germany's EU partners to reach a compromise on ending Turkey's accession talks with the bloc.