A simple way of understanding the 18th Amendment is to compare it to the situation in the United States of America. The president of the United States is elected for a term of four years and is entitled to remain in power for a maximum of two terms. This is an absolute limit. Suppose this limit was removed and a US president could contest the election and remain in power for an indefinite period of time. What difference would that make to the entire system of governance in the country; to understand that we have to go into the principle of this absolute limitation. [ full story | comments ]

Fishermen in the Sri Lankan port of Trincomalee hoped the end of the island's civil war would bring prosperity, but dynamite and corruption now threaten their livelihoods. Trincomalee, on the northeast coast, has one of the world's finest natural harbours and was fiercely fought over during the war until government troops finally defeated the rebel Tamil Tigers in May last year. "The problem we have now is that although we have the freedom to go out and work, the fish are being illegally destroyed to the point where we can?t earn a living," said captain Ananda Peiris after a dawn expedition that brought in just 30 kilogrammes (66 pounds) of tuna. [ full story | comments ]

During the peak days of the war, a few local and international NGOs championed the Child soldier issue in Sri Lanka. Obviously, the target was the LTTE – Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, which latterly admitted that there were child soldiers in their organisation. At the same time, the Sri Lankan security forces were also recruiting child soldiers from schools and poor families in the South. But this was overlooked by zealous government lobbyists and some NGO activists known among Civil Society as GONGOs – GOvernment Non-Governmental Organisations. [ full story | comments ]

Sri Lanka’s Supreme Court was assessing yesterday a bill that would amend the island’s constitution to allow the president, Mahinda Rajapaksa, to seek an unprecedented third term – and possibly more. JC Weliamuna, a lawyer involved in the Supreme Court hearings, said the five-judge bench would probably hand its decision to the president and the speaker of parliament today. Mr Weliamuna is representing the People’s Liberation Front, an opposition party opposed to amending the constitution. [ full story | comments ]

In 1989, Appapillai Amirthalingam - the most prominent political figure of the Tamil community - was assassinated. As part of the click 2010 World Stories series, 20 years on, Appapillai's wife travels back to her homeland in search of what the future holds for Sri Lanka's Tamil people. Click below to launch the slideshow. [ full story | comments ]

Ramaih Sathdiyapillai has had enough of life on the run. A native of Kilinochchi district – which was until not too long ago the stronghold of the separatist Tamil Tigers in Sri Lanka’s north – she bore the brunt of the war along with tens of thousands of others. As the war between government troops and the Tiger rebels escalated between mid-2008 and mid-2009, civilians like Sathdiyapillai found themselves trapped by the fighting. She escaped the conflict in March 2009, spent almost one and half years in a camp for the displaced and only returned to her native Kilinochchi in August. [ full story | comments ]

India expressed concerns on Tuesday about China's influence in the Indian Ocean region, the latest sign of tension between the Asian giants who are competing for resources and geopolitical power in the region. "The government of India has come to realise that China has been showing more than the normal interest in Indian Ocean affairs," India’s Foreign Minister S.M. Krishna told lawmakers. [ full story | comments ]

Government of Sri Lanka will lease out around 5,500 acres spread across 12 islands, to potential investors who want to invest in setting up hotels and resorts in the country. The 12 islands are located in Kalpitiya area of Western Sri Lanka, close to the capital city, Colombo. When asked about the infrastructure development of North and East of the country, Godahewa said that they are virgin territories as far as tourism development was concerned. He said that land for two beach resorts and two island resorts have already been identified in these areas and more locations will be identified in the coming months. [ full story | comments ]

Canada is a home to about 34 million people with the total area of 9,984,670 square kilometers, the second largest country in the world, after Russia. Canada was originally occupied by the Aboriginals who must have settled tens of thousands of years ago from Asia, through Bering Sea, although many Aboriginals disagree with this theory. Nonetheless, Canada has been home to the people who had emigrated from various parts of the world. Now the Tamils who flee their homeland to escape the racist persecution of the Sinhala-majority Sri Lankan government are trying to set foot on Canadian soil as refugees. Heated debate now rages amongst the Canadians who were themselves immigrants one way or the other. [ full story | comments ]

The advent of Indian Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao to Sri Lanka last Monday has sparked speculations that she is going to be appointed as the Indian Govt.’s Special Envoy. Nirupama Rao, the Foreign Secretary is to go on retirement shortly. It is speculated that the Indian Govt. after her retirement is to appoint her as the special envoy concerning the issues of the Tamil population of Sri Lanka. Rao was also an Indian High Commissioner in Sri Lanka. She became the Indian High Commissioner in Sri Lanka after the present President Mahinda Rajapaksa became the Prime Minister during that period. [ full story | comments ]

The ordeal of a Sri Lankan domestic worker whose Saudi Arabian employer allegedly drove nails and metal wires into her body has sent alarm bells ringing among government officials and activists, but how such abuses can be stopped remain far from clear. "This is a bit of a problem. Maybe we need to look at some new protective measures," said Mangala Randeniya, deputy general manager at the state-owned Sri Lanka Bureau of Foreign Employment (SLBFE), which looks after the overseas deployment of this South Asian island nation’s workers. [ full story | comments ]

A SELF-confessed people smuggler who helped asylum seekers get on boats to Australia has told a court of bribes paid in Indonesia. Sri Lankan-born Tamil Pathmendra Pulendren, 36, from Pendle Hill in Sydney's west, pleaded guilty on Thursday to a charge of facilitating the arrival of unlawful people to Australia. Giving evidence at his sentencing submissions before Judge Robyn Tupman in Sydney's Downing Centre District Court, the Toongabbie spice shop operator said he arranged for 20 people to join a boat that departed Indonesia bound for Australia on June 10, 2009. [ full story | comments ]

Indian Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao was on a two-day visit to areas in the northern and eastern parts of Sri Lanka to have a first hand assessment of the situation on the resettlement of displaced Tamils and Indian assistance to the process. Foreign Minister SM Krishna would be going to Colombo in October to reassure President Rajapaksa of Indian Government’s continued commitment to the development of the island nation, and to discuss various bilateral issues. [ full story | comments ]

The Sri Lankan housemaid tortured in Saudi Arabia described to the BBC Sinhala Service how her employers hammered heated nails in to her body. Earlier, Saudi authorities denied her allegations of torture. "The employer's wife used to hold me down and the daughter held a knife to my neck while the employer stuck heated nails to my body. This torture went on for months," LP Ariyawathie told BBC Sandeshaya. [ full story | comments ]

New Democrat MP Peter Julian (Burnaby-New Westminster) is concerned about the human rights situation of the recent 492 Tamil asylum-seekers currently detained in British Columbia. “I had an opportunity to meet with the refugees in two of the three detention centres and it is clear that they have inadequate access to support and services, such as translators,” said Julian. “Canadians of Tamil origin have contributed greatly to Canada, and the Tamil community in Canada has offered to provide a full range of professional support services free of charge to the refugees. Why hasn't the government allowed them to provide this support?” asked Julian. [ full story | comments ]

In the early 19 50s the Ilankai Thamil Arasu Katchi (ITAK) launched the first and only non-violent movement to date to achieve internal de-colonisation through devolution of power. The party sought to mimic the essentials of the Indian model of linguistic states that contributed to partial democratisation; so it proposed similar devolution to future Tamil and Sinhalese linguistic states to introduce a democratic federal system of government in Sri Lanka. Their overriding aim was to modernise the bankrupt unitary State, which British colonialists had originally imposed in 1832 and monopolised power through it to dominate and plunder the island. Tamil civil society solidly backed federalism and, by extension, agreed to internal de-colonisation. [ full story | comments ]

Sri Lanka’s Commission on Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation (LLRC) has begun its hearings into the reasons for the “failure of the ceasefire agreement” with the Liberation Tigers of Eelam (LTTE), the subsequent renewed civil war and proposals for “national reconciliation”. The proceedings of the commission do not in any way constitute an investigation of alleged war crimes, but are aimed at covering them up. In line with the Sri Lankan government’s flat denials that the military killed any civilians, the commission is yet to ask witnesses about any of these atrocities. [ full story | comments ]

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information that a German philanthropist staying in Sri Lanka has been illegally arrested and detained by the officers attached to the Special Task Force (STF) of the Sri Lanka police on 17th August, 2010 at Siyambalanduwa. He was travelling with his son and his companions in the district of Monaragala. He was detained in the Siyambalanduwa Police Station where fabricated charges of illegal drug trafficking were filed against him. A few months before this incident a powerful Minister of the present Sri Lankan government illegally requested Mr. Michael Kreitmeir to give him Rs. 30 million towards his election campaign and when Mr. Kreitmeir refused he was threatened by the Minister. [ full story | comments ]

The National's coverage of the situation surrounding the Tamil migrants who fled Sri Lanka to Canada aboard the MV Sun Sea and how Canadians are reacting.  On Friday, August 13, a cargo ship carrying nearly 500 Tamil migrants arrived off the coast of British Columbia. The migrants fled the war-ravaged country of Sri Lanka to make refugee claims in Canada. Since their arrival, the migrants have been detained in Vancouver-area jails. [ full story | comments ]

Sri Lanka has signed a $450 million deal with China Merchants Holdings (0144.HK) and local conglomerate Aitken Spence SPEN.CM to boost the Colombo port's cargo-handling capacity, a official said on Tuesday. The joint venture will build the first of three planned terminals in the Colombo port. Each is expected to add the capability to handle an additional 2.5 million Twenty-Foot Equivalent Units (TEU). The port now handles 4.5 million TEU. [ full story | comments ]