" Colombo risks squandering Sri Lanka's hard-won peace" is the most analytical and up-to-date article on the war and the illusive peace in Sri Lanka. Only the historical reference to Dutagemunu (a Sinhalese ruler who vanquished an invading Tamil army more than 2,000 years ago) needs clarification. Dutagemunu was not an invasive king but an indigenous king. "King" Mahinda Rajapaksa (the current president) must give up on the idea of marginalizing minorities, especially Tamils.

The 13th Amendment of the Constitution will not solve the ethnic problem as it invests executive power and money control with the center, which has always been in the hands of mono-ethnic leaders. Furthermore, its failure was amply demonstrated in 1989 by the then chief minister of Northeast Provincial Council, Varatharaja Perumal. At present, Chief Minister Chandrakasan of the Eastern Provincial Council is reliving the legacy of its failure.

sarojini freeman