Daily News Editorial

Sports as a unifier

04 October 2016

President Maithripala Sirisena has emphasized on the importance of sports that is not only a great leveler but also a catalyst that helps dismantle all ethnic barriers. As such he said the government is duty bound to create a better environment for the upliftment of the sports sector.

Speaking at the Jaffna Duraiappa Stadium which hosted the 42nd National Sport Festival the President said as a result of the ethnic harmony athletes from all parts of the country representing the nine provinces have gathered at the venue. He said Sri Lanka’s sportsmen and sportswomen had displayed their prowess in the international arena on numerous occasions. Sports and music he said are considered universal languages. “The playground is a place where everyone can gather without any barriers. Everything should be done in a united country without any differences. He went onto point out that the nine provinces were drawn, not by the country’s rulers, but the colonial masters in order to facilitate administration requirements”.

The Duraiappa stadium is indeed symbolic because this is where the first shot was fired by Velupiilai Prabhakaran felling Jaffna Mayor Alfred Duraiappa as far back as 1975 signalling the commencement of the Eelam war. It is indeed appropriate that the President extended the olive branch at the venue to the Northern Tamil sportsmen and sportswomen in order to emphasize the importance of sports as a unifying agent.

Sports, as the President was wont to say, is a bridge builder, its spirit and lessons not just confined to the playing field, but that which penetrate the hearts and minds of all those engaged in it. This is why arch rivals in the world cup soccer matches who give no quarter to their opponents from the rival countries, at the end of the game, not only hug and embrace each other, but also don each others’ jerseys, being members of the same team in the club circuit. This bond sometimes lasts for a lifetime and in Sri Lanka too, sports should be fostered and developed to the level that go beyond the camaraderie on the playing field to embrace a large message of harmony and reconciliation among all participants. In fact Sri Lankans should be indebted to the sporting prowess of the members hailing from the minority community. These feats may in fact be repeated in the future as well when members of the minority community may play their part in putting Sri Lanka on the international sporting map. To begin with, Sri Lanka has the honour of producing the highest wicket taker in test cricket in the form of one Muttaiah Muralitharan. The rousing reception accorded to him in the staunch Sinhala Buddhist heartland of Galle, where the feat was achieved, no doubt is still etched in the minds of many, irrespective of their ethnic backgrounds. It was a day for celebration of all Sri Lankans from Dondra Head to Point Pedro. If only this spirit could be nurtured and continued with, Sri Lankans no doubt would have no difficulty in shedding all differences based on community, caste and creed, was the view of many observers at the time. Among the current crop of cricketers in the national team too there is a welcome mix of religious and ethnic diversity, with the captain no less coming from a minority community. It was refreshing indeed to see all members of the team visit the Sri Dalada Maligawa to pay homage to the Sacred Tooth Relic in the aftermath of the series whitewash against Australia.

It is also regretful that when sports is playing the role of unifier of the communities, as hoped for by the President, there are element always ready to muddy the atmosphere. The other day former President Mahinda Rajapaksa was shown on television making an incendiary speech clearly aimed at appealing to the baser instincts of the nationalist elements. In a speech clearly intended to rouse anti-Tamil feeling Rajapaksa said they of the Sinhala race cannot be pushed to the wall but will hit back with a vengeance. He was of course responding to the Northern Province Chief Minister’s demonstration where certain statements were alleged to have been made which had apparently rubbed the JO on the wrong side. Wigneswaran, for his part, claims that his comments and remarks had been misinterpreted by racist elements in the South. In the melee the government is entertaining suspicion that Wigneswaran’s antics were staged managed at the instance of a prominent JO parliamentarian who is closely related to the Chief Minister. The All Ceylon Hindu Congress meanwhile has risen to the defence of Wigneswaran pointing out that the CM had clearly stated that he is not acting against Sinhalese or Buddhists or any other race or religion. It is clear that the Joint Opposition has seized upon Wigneswaran’s protest to peddle its racist propaganda and set the platform for a take off in time for things to snowball at the Local Government elections tentatively set for March. The Government meanwhile will leave no stone unturned to ascertain, if indeed, there is more to it than meet the eye in the Wigneswaran antics, and if as alleged, things are being engineered by the JO firebrand who is a kinsman of the Chief Minister.