Rationale for 13A minus plus
By Izeth Hussain-April 17, 2015, 7:20 pm
In my article The Solution to the Ethnic Problem in The Island of April 11, I argued that the implementation of 13A minus land and police powers together with a fully functioning democracy would lead to a solution of the ethnic problem. I expressed a conviction about that outcome, which could seem to be foolhardiness on my part. The article was also reproduced in the Colombo Telegraph, where up to now it has provoked 169 responses, which is a very exceptionally high number. That seems to attest to a very widespread interest and concern over the question of a solution to the ethnic problem. Some of the responses, particularly from Tamil readers, indicate that my article can be seriously misunderstood. I am, therefore, setting out here a brief rationale for 13A minus plus, brief because I am focusing only on what seem to me to be the essentials.