Thursday, November 2, 2017

PM calls for grabbing golden opportunity to achieve unity, progress

Ranil

by Saman Indrajith-November 1, 2017, 11:09 pm

The choice Sri Lanka had was between finding a solution to the national problem by way of constitutional reforms and missing the unprecedented opportunity which had presented itself, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe has told Parliament yesterday.

The PM, participating in the debate on the interim committee report of the constitutional assembly, said that the unitary status of the country would not be compromised.

Yesterday was the third day of the four-day debate.

"We will endeavour to introduce a new Constitution while safeguarding the unitary status of the country. We are doing so in keeping with the mandate we received from the people at the last election. We appointed six sub-committees to make recommendations in the areas of fundamental rights, judiciary, finance, law and order, public service and centre-periphery relations.

The subjects that did not come under the purview of those sub committees were placed under the Steering Committee. The PM said they had covered considerable ground in the process of making the new constitution with the consent of all parties represented in parliament.

"The steering committee has prepared an interim report. There are recommendations from various parties. The interim report contains a summary of what has been discussed by the steering committee that met 73 times. This is not a draft for a new constitution. There are various suggestions and alternative views in this report. All those recommendations are included in the report. We have provided an opportunity for each and every MP to express his or her views on the report.

"We are yet to consider the recommendations of the six sub-committees. They need to be discussed with the people. Now we only discuss the content of the interim report.

"We intend to discuss this with Maha Nayake Theras. We will discuss it with other religious leaders as well. This should be thoroughly discussed in the public domain. That would take some more time. We guess that the process would go until the next Sinhala new year.

"Thereafter, we will discuss this as parties again. We will take into consideration the opinions of the general public. It is only after that the draft agreed by all parties will be presented to this assembly again. Some reform recommendations can be rejected. The amended draft will be presented to this assembly and if it is not passed then this assembly, too, will be dissolved. If it passed with a simple majority it will be presented to Parliament. If it is ratified with a two-thirds majority then it will be presented to the Cabinet of Ministers. Thereafter, the final draft will be presented to Parliament again. A decision on the new constitution can be taken then. If necessary we can go for a referendum.

"This cannot be done in haste. We need to discuss these matters at length. For the first time all parties have come together. They may have diverse opinions and views but they are here together for a common task. That is what is important.

"We should make use of this opportunity to go forward. Going forward does not mean that we will agree with every recommendation. We can iron out differences through discussion.

"There are diverse opinions over the official language. There were issues pertaining to the place of Buddhism in the Constitution. When the 13th Amendment to the Constitution was introduced, there was a clamour that the country was being divided. But, those who shouted then today shout for the protection of the 13th amendment. Today, they state that the 13th amendment would ensure the unitary status of the country.

"The war is over but the root causes of the conflict remains unsolved. We need to find solutions. We can do so through negotiations.

"I call upon those who oppose this process not to spread lies that the country would be divided. The majority of this parliament are Sinhala Buddhists. We are not here to destroy Sinhalaness and Buddhism. We were the ones who developed temples and monasteries. Did we do so to destroy the Sasana or to destroy Sinhala Buddhism? Are we here today to do away with the unitary status? We saved the unitary status through the 13th Amendment. We do not need to destroy Sinhala Buddhism. We also do not need to harm the unitary status of the country. Let us join and find a solution to the national problem. We could reach a national consensus.

"The Joint Opposition says that the Maha Nayakes have issued a statement that we should not formulate a new constitution which would harm the unitary status of the country and do away with the constitutional provision giving Buddhism the foremost place. The Joint Opposition says that it agrees with the Maha Nayakes’ statement. We, too, are in agreement with the Maha Nayakes’ statement. The President of the country, too, is in agreement with that.

(Joint opposition MPs shout at the Prime Minister)

"Why are you shouting? I said that I am in agreement with what you have agreed. The Joint Opposition does not want to accept our agreement with them. Let’s work together.

(Joint opposition MPs shout at the Prime Minister)

"They shout when we propose to unite. Their opinion is that sovereignty should be vested with the people. We agree with that. There is no issue about the position given to Buddhism in the Constitution. The Joint Opposition demands that provinces not be merged. We cannot merge provinces without the agreement of the entire nation. Only if people of entire country agrees we could merge or demerge provinces. There is a demand to abolish the executive presidency. We are ready to consider that. Then there is a demand that the Opposition Leader be elected by the MPs in the Opposition. We agree with that, too. They say that the provincial councils should not be a threat to the national security. That is my opinion as well. They demand that the powers of provincial councils be placed under the powers of the central government. Yes we agree with that too. They demand that local businessmen be protected and helped. We agree with that, too. I could recall how they protected the local businessmen. It was they who acquired Daya Gamage’s companies. Are they willing to give them back? There is a demand that the welfare programmes be continued. We are not against it. We are also in agreement with their proposal for a new electoral system. We can discuss these issues and then we can reach a compromising position which would be agreed by all. If we do this right now, the future generations would be thankful to us.

Sri Lanka’s Grand Failure

By Ameer Ali –NOVEMBER 1, 2017

Dr. Ameer Ali

On 4th February 2018 Sri Lanka will be entering its 61st year of independence from colonialism. It is time that the citizens of the country at least its apolitical literati come together and collectively make an assessment of the overall achievements and failures made during the sixty years so that an informed balance sheet could be presented to be audited by the public. Such a balance sheet should counter the ‘alternate facts’ presented by politicians. The cycle of democratic elections, political campaigns associated with them and change of governments that result from them has the drawback of keeping even intellectuals obsessively occupied with judging and comparing short term changes made during each political regime rather than assessing the long term trend and directions.

What is now required is not a quantitative balance sheet which the economists, statisticians and other pundits usually produce but a qualitative one. It is not about GDP per capita or literacy rate or life expectancy but about unquantifiable social cohesion, national co-operative spirit or Khaldunian asabiyya and happiness. In short, it is not about Gross National Product (GNP) but about Gross National Happiness (GNH) as the monarch of Bhutan once famously announced. What has been Sri Lanka’s record in this regard so far and where is it heading to? Is the nation and its people happier now than what they were on the eve of independence?

Without going into all aspects surrounding this heavily loaded question I wish to select only one issue that is menacingly disrupting the growth of GNH at the moment and threatening its decline in the future. This is the issue of plurality or diversity management. It was Arnold Toynbee the famous British historian who once wrote that diversity is the sign of growth and development whereas uniformity is the sign of decay and decline. Diversity is also the gift of nature. One of the gifted resources of Sri Lanka from the beginning if its recorded history has been its cultural and ethnic pluralism and diversity of its natural resources. In both, the country’s rulers especially after independence have magnificently succeeded in mismanaging. It is a record of grand failure.

The Sinhala-Tamil-Moor-Malay-Burgher ethnic and Buddhist-Hindu-Christian-Islamic religious plural mix is a permanent historical heritage of the country and no amount of legal, constitutional and chauvinistic political gimmicks can succeed in disinheriting it. What is required instead is to learn and practice the fine art of plurality management on which depends the country’s GNH. Unfortunately, the history of post-independent Sri Lanka has been marked by progressive mismanagement of this heritage. Managing this plurality by successive political leaders has assumed the model of a zero-sum game in which each element of the mix is deemed to win only at the expense of the others. There is a lot to learn by the current leaders from the managerial experience of the earlier kings and queens of Sri Lanka. The pre-colonial economic prosperity and political stability of this island, and happiness of its people hinged largely on the ethnic and cultural tranquillity achieved under their management. Can the historians of Sri Lanka point out one incident of ethnic or religious convulsion let alone cleansing in the pre-colonial history of this country? It is time that our political heroes who champion the cause of their respective ethnic and religious communities re-read the history of this island. This applies even to the minority of Buddhist monks and other religious leaders who are now scare mongering the people with imagined dangers of pluralism. In contrast, what the past teaches is the promotion and preservation of a healthy spirit of cosmopolitanism amidst plurality which was disrupted in the interest of imperialism during the colonial era. That disruption has been allowed to continue by the new rulers who replaced the colonialists.

In search of the standard brick – The mission impossible

There are no ifs, buts or short-cuts; the only option available for Sri Lanka is to develop a unified building code and a mechanism to issue conformity certificates for the materials and products used for the construction industry – Pic by Shehan Gunasekara

Context

Thursday, 2 November 2017

Benjamin Franklin is known as the Father of United States of America. He was witty and intelligent. Once he said: “If you would not be forgotten, as soon as you are dead and rotten, either write things worth reading, or do things worth the writing.” I am no prodigy. However, this is an attempt to follow his advice.

An inquisitive engineer made a valuable comment on a previous column I published ‘The need of the hour – A b

In search of the standard brick – The mission impossible.docx by Thavam on Scribd

Yet another rascally judge exposed by Lanka e news trapped..! Interdicted with immediate effect !

(Lanka-e-News - 02.Nov.2017, 6.30AM) Confirming Lanka e news never goes wrong in its exposures of crooks and culprits , yet another scoundrel of a judge Mohan Seneviratne who indulged in rackets and corruption was interdicted with immediate effect from 2017-10-31 by the Judicial Service Commission (JSC).

Lanka e news as far back as in 2016 , exposed there are judges who are a disgrace to the bench and are corrupting the judiciary. Our report even identified them by names ,and among them was this culprit high judge Mohan Seneviratne. Now , Lanka e reveals this news to the law abiding citizens with utmost delight and absolute pride !

Lanka e news disclosed at that time, in the Baratha Lakshman multiple murder in which four individuals including Baratha Lakshman were murdered , Mohan Seneviratne was one of the two judges who wrote the judgment delivered by Shiran Gunaratne based on latter’s individual ruling putting aside the majority decision .Gunaratne exonerated all the suspects of the charges and acquitted them.

Lanka e news at that time highlighted that these three rascally judges Shiran Gunaratne , Mohan Seneviratne as well as Damith Thotawatte who helped them were lackeys and lickspittles of ex chief justice (CJ) Sarath Nanda Silva , a most infamous unscrupulous CJ in SL’s judicial history to hold that post. These three Sarath Silva stooges who were working in the Attorney General’s department during the tenure of office of notorious Sarath Silva as CJ , were elevated suddenly as high court judges , LeN reported .

In any event interdiction orders were served on rogue judge Mohan Seneviratne not based on those grounds, rather based on a lengthy exhaustive investigation conducted into Mohan Seneviratne ‘s continuous prostitution of official position over a long time while being a judge.

Mohan who served as a high court judge in Hambantota , Galle and Balapitiya has been so venal that he delivered judgments and granted bail after collecting kickbacks. He has been implicated in a large number of such criminal involvements. While he was at Balapitiya, jointly with his illicit lover ‘Heleni De Silva’ a lawyer , he has given judgments and granted bail influenced by bribes. When he was transferred to Galle , his mistress “Heleni’ too crept in there , to jointly perpetuate their rackets without let or hindrance . Even when he was serving at the Hambantota court , in collusion with an old friend , Faizal Cassim , an old friend of his he has been continuing with his favorite occupation – bribe taking ‘selling’ his honor( if he had any ) and profession . Not enough ! there are also charges against him of attempted sexual abuse on a court stenographer .

Though the complaints supported with evidence against this culprit were received by the JSC long ago , the culprit with the assistance of the mafia that existed within the JSC hitherto suppressed them . But now based on media reports ,since the JSC has become independent enough to conduct investigations into the rackets of judges , Mohan Seneviratne who is a disgrace to the bench could no longer remain hidden from the arms of the law. Consequently , he was interdicted with effect from 2017-10-31 .

It is the duty of those responsible to take further action and haul up such rogues and rascals before the Bribery and Corruption Commission to confiscate their assets acquired through bribes and illicit avenues ,without just stopping with this investigation. It is then and only then the other judges too would be deterred and daunted from indulging in such corrupt and crooked activities.

Connected report …
Decision of ‘Tinkering Baas’ that Duminda is not guilty was written by another judge.!

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by (2017-11-02 01:10:55)

Supreme Court rules Geetha unqualified to serve as MP

Lakmal Sooriyagoda-Thursday, November 2, 2017

A Supreme Court five-judge-bench headed by Chief Justice Priyasath Dep today unanimously ruled that Galle district parliamentarian Geetha Kumarasinghe is not qualified to be elected as a Member of Parliament since she holds dual citizenship.

The Supreme Court upheld the Court of Appeal judgment dated May 3 and its order in the nature of writ of Quo Warranto declaring that Galle District MP Geetha Kumarasinghe is disqualified to be a member of parliament and thus not entitled to hold office as a Member of Parliament.

Accordingly, the appeal filed by Geetha Kumarasinghe was dismissed with cost. The registrar of Supreme Court was directed that this order be sent to the Secretary General of Parliament forthwith.

This judgment was delivered by Supreme Court Judge Sisira de Abrew, who was a member of five-judge-Bench which heard the appeal.

This judgment had been approved by four other judges Chief Justice Priyasath Dep, Justice Buwaneka Aluwihare, Justice Sisira de Abrew, Justice Anil Goonaratne and Justice Nalin Perera.

“When I consider the Article 91(1) (d) (xiii) of the Constitution, I hold that if a candidate in a Parliament Election is a citizen of Sri Lanka and any other country on the day of parliament election or on the day of taking oaths as Member of Parliament (MP), he cannot be considered as MP and that office of such a person as a MP is nullified,” Justice Abrew observed.

“After taking oaths as a MP, if he becomes a citizen of any other country or continues to be a citizen of any other country, he too cannot be considered as a MP and that office of such a person as a Member of Parliament is nullified” Justice Abrew added.

“I have earlier held that Geetha Kumarasinghe was not qualified to be elected as a MP on August 17, 2015 that she was not qualified to take oaths as MP on September 1, 2015. Thus, a writ of Quo Warranto is available to oust her from MP position. The Supreme Court affirms the Court of Appeal judgment and dismisses the appeal with cost,” he said.

Delivering its judgment on the writ petition filed by five residents of Galle district, the Court of Appeal on March 3 held that in terms of Article 91(1) (d) (xiii) of the Constitution, Geetha Kumarasinghe is not qualified to be elected as a Member of Parliament since she holds dual citizenship in Switzerland and Sri Lanka.

Subsequently, MP Geetha Kumarasinghe filed an Appeal in the Supreme Court challenging the Court of Appeal judgment.

On May 15, a divided three-judge-Supreme Court bench had granted special leave to appeal with the petition filed by Kumarasinghe.

At a previous occasion, the Supreme Court allowed former Minister Piyasena Gamage to intervene into the appeal filed by Galle district parliamentarian Geetha Kumarasinghe.

In his petition, former MP Piyasena Gamage observed that Interim Order granted to Geetha Kumarasinghe should be set aside or vacated as the intervenient petition had not been named as a respondent.

The Chief Justice had nominated a fuller bench comprising five judges of the Supreme Court to hear an appeal filed by Galle district parliamentarian Geetha Kumarasinghe.

In this appeal petition, Geetha Kumarasinghe had cited N.W.E. Buwaneka of Beddegama, J.K. Amarawardhana of Yatalamatta, A.C. Gunasekara of Unawatuna, J.K. Wijesinghe of Ambalangoda and H.L.Prasanna Deepthilal of Galle, Controller General of Immigration and Emigration, the Secretary General of Parliament and several others as respondents.

President’s Counsel Romesh de Silva with counsel Sugath Caldera appeared for MP Geetha Kumarasinghe. President’s Counsel J. C. Weliamuna PC, Faiz Musthapha PC, Chandaka Jayasundara PC and Pulasthi Rupasinghe appeared on behalf of the respondents.

Deputy Solicitor General Nerin Pulle with Senior State Counsel Suren Gnanaraj appeared for the Secretary General of Parliament and Controller of Immigration and Emigration. Counsel Suren Fernando appearing for intervenient petitioner Piyasena Ranasinghe.

Time to give school authorities lessons in pregnancy!

There is a popular saying that the best things in society are for children’s use. Despite the presence of many human rights organizations, Women’s Groups and NGO’s involved in the protection of the children’s rights- especially those of girls- there are less affluent families who suffer enormously due to misdirected priorities of the authorities. It is ironic that the children who are entitled to education have lost this basic right. This is one such tragic tale about the suffering of a female student with the connivance of the Government authorities.

2017-11-02

This student had been expelled from her school recently by the disciplinary committee of the school under the impression that she was pregnant. What had led the authorities at the school to take such a decision was her vomiting inside the school premises. The vomiting had been caused because she had attended school that day without having breakfast. She was a grade 10 student of Madatugama Rewatha Maha Vidyalaya in Kekirawa. The Human Rights Commission in Colombo had informed the girl’s parents in writing to present the student for further investigations.

The student’s mother, D.M.Somawathi( 57), said that she had never been to Colombo. Her father N.H. Kiribanda (66) said that he had been to Colombo Fort area in the 1940’s to engage in the job of unloading vegetables from lorries.

The problem these parents face is that they aren’t in a position to bear even the bus fares necessary to travel to Colombo. This is because they have got used to eking out a living through manual labour. The monies raised this way barely suffice for them to have one meal a day. We went to their house on October 28 (Saturday) evening in order to show their house to three people with lion hearts who arrived from Trincomalee to provide this family with food stuff after having read their woeful story in the newspaper.

It was only then that we went to Dambulla Hospital. The doctors in that hospital were like Gods. They proved that the allegations levelled against her were false. The fire that had inflamed in my mind had extinguished

At that time, the girl, who had suffered this injustice, and her mother were at home. The mother told us that her daughter wasn’t given an opportunity to be enrolled in a school so far. Her mother revealed that several teachers had decided to leave this school if the teachers and parents association decided to readmit the girl concerned back to the school.

When we inquired from the mother whether this student has a pair of shoes, a school bag and clothes to attend school, they displayed the pair of shoes she used. The shoes were in a pathetic condition.

She said that her daughter now had no school to attend and that the principal nor any other person had told them that a school will be provided for her daughter. Her former class teacher had promised to take her back, but nothing has happened so far

Her father Kiri Banda said that his family, which lives in the throes of poverty, had to face innumerable hardships. He said that as a result of having to travel to Anuradhapura and Dambulla Police stations regarding various investigations, he was denied of the opportunity to earn his daily wages.

He further said that he wished there was an inquiry against the teacher who influenced the principal to expel her daughter from school. He added that the principal had merely signed the leaving certificate and the directive to expel her had been carried out by another teacher.

A young woman who came from Trincomalee had given them Rs.1000 so that they could reach Colombo, as requested by the Human Rights Commission.

“It was on October12 while we were working that we were summoned by the school. Then, another teacher told us that our daughter was pregnant and she could not be kept in school. The teacher concerned scolded us thoroughly and compelled us to remove her from the school. It was only then that we went to Dambulla Hospital. The doctors in that hospital were like Gods. They proved that the allegations levelled against her were false. The fire that had inflamed in my mind had extinguished,” said the girl’s mother.

She said that her daughter now had no school to attend and that the principal nor any other person had told them that a school will be provided for her daughter. Her former class teacher had promised to take her back, but nothing has happened so far. She had gone to Anuradhapura for various investigations, spending hard earned money, and had to return home starving.

“I have never been to Colombo. Nor have I seen Colombo. How can we get to Colombo? We don’t know where the Human Rights Commission is. It is a great help if somebody accompanies us to our destination. If we don’t go, they would say that our girl is guilty. It is a great trouble. We don’t know what we should do,” the girl’s mother said.

“We don’t want anything more than a school for our daughter to sit for her examination. The principal was extremely sad regarding this issue because she was the one who gave the leaving certificate. But it was another teacher who scolded her. I had to leave and was unable to listen to what he had told. He spoke in an insulting manner. The parents and the teachers who had participated in the meeting, conducted by the disciplinary committee, had planned to blame us. Nobody spoke to us. We were named as the wrong doers along with the gentlemen who represented the electronic and print media. They blamed us accusing us of creative this situation. We don’t harbour a grudge against the principal despite she having signed the leaving certificate of our daughter. This was done under the influence of another teacher. However, we have become the wrongdoers in the end. What can we do? This is the outcome of abject poverty,” the girl’s father said.

Perspectives of professionals

“Children should be afforded the ‘dignity and worth of the human person’”-Marini De Livera- Chairperson of the National Child Protection Authority (NCPA)

While this isn’t the first time a child’s rights have been violated, this incident will certainly be talked about in the history of child rights violations. Speaking to NCPA Chairperson Marini De Livera, the Daily Mirror inquired about the actions taken so far by the authority regarding this incident. The NCPA must take action, so that a similar incident could be prevented from from occurring.

“The preamble of the United Nation’s Child Rights Convention that Sri Lanka is party to, eloquently declares that a child should be afforded the ‘dignity and worth of the human person’. It speaks of the full and harmonious development of the child that the child has to grow up in an atmosphere of happiness, love and understanding. It further states that the child should be brought up in a spirit of peace, dignity, tolerance, equality and solidarity,” said De Livera, explaining the extent to which the said allegation has violated the child’s rights.

De Livera mentioned that the NCPA was informed of the incident via its 24-hour child line, the moment it took place. “The matter was referred to the ASP in charge of the NCPA Police Unit who is handling the investigation. Statements from relevant parties were obtained. The JMO is due to submit his report and once it is received the NCPA’s Law Enforcement Unit will take action after consulting the Attorney General,” she said.

Occasional incidents of rights violation underscore the necessity of taking steps to ensure that such incidents aren’t repeated in the future. The impact that these violations have on the victim’s live is traumatic. Therefore it is of utmost importance to take strict measures to prevent such violations. Especially the various reports of student assaults and child abuse that spring up indicate the lack of awareness on the consequences of law violation.

“Sensitisation of school principals and Teachers on Human Rights and Duties, especially on Child Rights and Legal Literacy, is important. The strict enforcement of prevailing laws should be made,” De Livera stressed. At the end of the day, it boils down to the fact that the protection of the country’s future generation is the duty of every citizen. “All members of the community working together to promote and protect the Rights of the Child is necessary to promote the protection of children in the country,” she concluded.

“The preconceived accusation that this child is pregnant is unacceptable,”- Professor Harendra De Silva-Paediatrician and former chairman of the NCPA

It is very surprising to learn the extent of action taken regarding the vomiting of a student following accusations not supported with proof. Many questions have been raised regarding this incident. Dr. Harendra De Silva when contacted said, “There are many reasons that a child may vomit. It is very rare that the cause behind a child vomiting is due to pregnancy. I find it very irrational and absurd that such a drastic action to expel a student was taken without even investigating into the issue and confirming it,” he commented.

“I believe that whoever is at fault should definitely be punished. Teachers should be suspended regarding this kind of behaviour. These kinds of people shouldn’t even be allowed to work as teachers, let alone be principals. These kinds of incidents should not be taken lightly and be brushed under the carpet. Strict measures have to be taken against the perpetrators. Once they are found guilty of such violations, the teachers should not be allowed to continue unless they undergo counselling or engage in a rehabilitation programme,” Prof. De Silva opined.

There are many reasons that a child may vomit. It is very rare that the cause behind a child vomiting is due to pregnancy. I find it very irrational and absurd that such a drastic action to expel a student was taken without even investigating into the issue and confirming it-prof.Harendra

It is a fundamental right of a child to learn with dignity. According to Prof. De Silva, a right to education with dignity should be available even if the child is pregnant. “Emotionally running down a child is unacceptable. This accusation may have been made due to a personal grudge against the child, the presence of impartiality due to poverty or a previous wrong impression of the child. Whatever the cause, the preconceived notion that this child is pregnant is unacceptable,” he accentuated.

It is reported that the issue will be inquired into by the Ministry of Education. However Prof. De Silva doesn’t agree with this ministry conducting an inquiry. “I do not believe that the Ministry of Education should be the authority to conduct an inquiry regarding the incident. Inquiries should be carried out by a legal authority. An internal inquiry will prove useless. I am a doctor. It is like asking one doctor to judge the actions of another doctor. Or an accused being judged by one’s own relative. Such a judgement would be biased. This case is similar. Normally these types of incidents are brushed under the carpet. But I believe that the perpetrators have to be punished against child rights violations,” he stressed.

“This particular incident, where the child was expelled without proof, is an offence under the grounds of cruelty to children. The student should be allowed to continue with her schooling again in another school, which will provide her with a standard education,” he continued. There is no doubt about the trauma that a student faces when allegations of such nature are made. This student is a tenth grader. Such an incident can affect a child’s mentality and her studies, especially when she is just about to sit for her Ordinary Level Examination.

“Teachers should be able to deal with students sensitively. The root of this problem was a health issue. Even when the child is innocent, the child gets abused. Teachers should be held accountable for their actions. A teacher should be removed from his or her post and appropriate punishment should follow when the individual is proven guilty. Action should be taken regardless of whether the wrong doer is sent to jail or for rehabilitation,” he concluded.

Wednesday, November 1, 2017

Citing BDS, Israel bars entry to Amnesty staffer

Israel has retaliated against Amnesty International over its call for a global ban on settlement goods by denying entry to one of its staffers.

The human rights group said that Raed Jarrar, Amnesty USA advocacy director for the Middle East, was stopped at the Allenby Bridge crossing on Monday as he tried to enter the occupied West Bank from Jordan for a family visit following the recent death of his father.

“He was interrogated by Israeli officials about the reasons for his visit, his family in the [occupied Palestinian territories], his work with Amnesty International and in particular the organization’s work denouncing Israeli settlements in the West Bank, before being denied entry and returned back to Jordan,” the group said on Tuesday.

In June, Amnesty called on governments around the world to “ban Israeli settlement products to help end half a century of violations against Palestinians.”

Israel’s interior ministry confirmed to media that Jarrar had been barred due to “his [boycott, divestment and sanctions] activities.”

“The fact that Raed Jarrar was barred from entry after being interrogated about his work with Amnesty International appears to suggest that this move was taken in retaliation for the organization’s work on human rights violations” in the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip, said Philip Luther,

Amnesty’s Middle East and North Africa research and advocacy director.

“This appears to be another ominous signal of the Israeli authorities’ resolve to silence human rights organizations and activists who are critical of the Israeli government.”

Singled out

The group noted that Israeli occupation officers gave Jarrar a document confirming that he was denied entry for “public security” or “public order” considerations and the “prevention of illegal immigration.”

Israeli authorities cited similar reasons last year when they denied entry to Isabel Apawo Phiri, the associate general secretary of the World Council of Churches.

But at that time Israeli officials also told media that Phiri had really been denied entry on the grounds she supported the boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) movement for Palestinian rights.

Phiri, a national of Malawi, was the only African traveling with her delegation, and the only person singled out and denied entry.

Similarly, Jarrar, who is of Palestinian descent, was traveling with an Amnesty colleague, Alli McCracken, who was not denied entry.

“Prior to joining Amnesty International, Raed Jarrar had visited Israel and the [occupied Palestinian territories] four times and had never been denied entry,” Amnesty said. “Alli McCracken had been to the West Bank six times before and has taken part in solidarity events such as the annual olive harvest.”

Blacklists

In September, Israel threatened to punish Amnesty under a 2011 law permitting financial penalties against organizations that support boycotting Israel, including its settlements which are all illegal under international law.

As part of its effort to suppress international support for Palestinian rights, Israel passed a law in Marchexplicitly barring entry or residency to non-Israelis who advocate boycott, including of settlements.

Israel has also been compiling blacklists of BDS supporters, some of whom have already been denied entry.

What if Wales had been offered to the Jews as a homeland?

One hundred years ago, the Balfour Declaration backed Palestine as a Jewish homeland. Imagining if history had taken another turn offers a fresh perspective

Kamel Hawwash

Tuesday 31 October 2017 18:15 UTC

On 2 November 1917, British Foreign Secretary Arthur Balfour sent a letter to Lord Walter Rothschild, a prominent zionist, which became known as the Balfour Declaration.

In it, the British government promised Palestine to the Zionists - and did so without consulting Palestinians, British Jews, or the wider British population. While Palestinian Arabs at the time made up 90 per cent of the territory's 700,000 population, they were bizarrely only referred to as "existing non-Jewish communities". The letter also said "that nothing should be done to prejudice" their "civil and religious rights".

What if Wales had been offered to the Jews as a homeland.docx by Thavam on Scribd

Lithuania, Leery of Moscow, Spars With Belarus Over Nuclear Reactor

Fearing the Kremlin’s grand design, and another nuclear disaster, Vilnius has turned a power plant into a battleground.

A nuclear danger sign near the Belarusian village of Dronki. (Viktor Drachev/AFP/Getty Images)

BY REID STANDISH-OCTOBER 31, 2017, 11:45 AM

VILNIUS, Lithuania — Since January, Darius Degutis, a tall and dapper diplomat in the Lithuanian foreign ministry, has barnstormed Western capitals to lobby governments and spread the word about what he describes as a looming nuclear threat straddling the European Union’s eastern frontier.

The threat in question: A nuclear power plant being built in the small town of Ostrovets in neighboring Belarus, just 12 miles from the Lithuanian border and 30 miles from Vilnius. In a region still scarred by the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear disaster, the reactor’s proximity and worries about safety standards and environmental impact have Lithuanian officials on edge and sounding the alarm.

But their anxiety isn’t limited to the reactor alone, but rather who is building it and why. A unit of Rosatom, Russia’s state-owned nuclear energy monopoly, is building the power plant thanks to a $10 billion loan from a Russian state-owned bank. It is part of a recent Rosatom push to build 19 new reactors around the world, including in Hungary, Finland, and Turkey.

Lithuanian officials fear the worst. The tiny country, with a population of just 3 million, imports most of its electricity — and is still connected to the Russian electricity grid. Vilnius worries that the plant is a plot from the Kremlin to elbow into the European Union energy market, using electricity to gain a foothold in the Nordic and Baltic markets to keep the region dependent on Moscow for energy — and thus to keep them under its thumb.

Such intentions were hinted at in a 2013 speech where Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko reportedly referred to the nuclear plant as “a fishbone in the throats of the European Union and the Baltic states” that they wouldn’t be able to remove.

“From the very beginning, this was meant to intimidate us,” Degutis told Foreign Policy. “Belarus has the right to develop its nuclear energy, but there’s a lot more than that happening here.”

The standoff over the plant has become a symptom of the deep mistrust that countries on Russia’s eastern frontier have about the Kremlin’s intentions, turning commercial competition into a brutal political battleground.

“It’s another Russian geopolitical project on our borders,” Linas Linkevicius, Lithuania’s foreign minister, told FP.

Belarus touts the power plant as a step forward for its own energy security — the country currently imports 90 percent of its energy from Russia — and as a potential revenue stream that could compete in the Baltic and Nordic electricity markets. Minsk rejects Vilnius’s allegations that it has broken international rules and skirted safety barriers during construction. Lukashenko has also accused the Lithuanian government of politicizing the issue for its gain.

Lithuania, like other countries in eastern Europe, has recently weaned off some of its reliance on Russia for energy supplies; it now imports some natural gas from the United States and Norway, breaking the former total reliance on Moscow. But the country’s electricity system still lags behind and fears over Rosatom’s central role in Russia’s energy diplomacy has Vilnius viewing an ulterior motive behind the plant’s rationale and location.

Rosatom did not respond to FP’s request for comment at the time of publication.

Lithuania has few power plants of its own. Vilnius shut down its Soviet-era nuclear power plant that supplied 70 percent of its domestic electricity needs as part of its negotiations to join the EU in 2004 due to safety concerns. The government was supposed to replace it with a new plant, but problems with funding, political infighting, and anxiety among average Lithuanians over nuclear energy has prevented the plans from being realized.

As a result, Lithuania finds itself in its current bind, where it imports more than two-thirds of its electricity. The Baltic country’s power grid, like that of neighboring Estonia and Latvia, is still part of a Soviet-era network that snakes through Belarus and Russia proper. Though Lithuania hopes to tie into the EU’s power grid through Poland by 2025, the Ostrovets plant could come online as soon as 2019.
With that deadline approaching, Lithuania’s parliament passed a law in April against buying energy from what it termed “unsafe nuclear power plants in third countries” — implying Ostrovets — and also outlawed the transfer of energy from such plants through its territory.

“We are not going to allow electricity produced [from Ostrovets] in our markets,” said Degutis, who is tasked with the Ostrovets portfolio.

Now the race is on for Lithuania to push forward with its plans to synchronize with the European electricity grid before both of the reactors in Ostrovets come online. Degutis says that his government plans to disconnect from Belarus and will pay higher prices to produce electricity at home to meet its energy demands.

But even if Vilnius is willing to shoulder those extra costs, it doesn’t allay long-standing environmental and safety concerns with the project. Those worries were crystallized in a July 2016 incident when a nuclear reactor shell (which encloses the reactor core) was dropped while being moved. The incident wasn’t acknowledged until an opposition activist publicized it online. After some outcry, Rosatom replaced the shell with a new one at the star-crossed plant.

In Vilnius, officials say the power plant’s construction cannot be separated from a wider — and troubling — context. Tensions have been high in the region since Moscow’s military campaign in Georgia in 2008 and have risen since the war in Ukraine in 2014, giving concern that power plant could be used for leverage in other ways.

“Ostrovets can become Moscow’s tool of blackmail over Lithuania,” said Agnia Grigas, a Lithuanian energy expert at the Atlantic Council and the author of The New Geopolitics of Natural Gas. “With the Kremlin’s penchant for information and cyber warfare, the implications are endless.”

Fear of the worst-case scenario have been central to Lithuanian policymakers since the country was the first republic to declare independence from the Soviet Union in 1990. Officials say those memories of being under Moscow’s thumb are still fresh, and when it comes to energy, they are keen to block any potential Kremlin leverage.

“Energy independence has been our only option from the beginning,” Simonas Satunas, Lithuania’s deputy energy minister, told FP. “It’s the only way to ensure we will not be blackmailed [by Moscow].”