SRI LANKA: On Eve of Talks, Cricket Helps Soothe Wounds of War

By Feizal Samath Reprint | | Print |

Feizal Samath

COLOMBO, Sep 15 2002 (IPS) - If there is one issue that has bonded communities in war-ravaged Sri Lanka, it is cricket – one of whose biggest international tournaments is underway here as the peace talks between the government and Tamil Tiger rebels start Monday.

The country’s greatest hero is a cricketer – one from the minority Tamil community.

When Muttiah Muralidaran, Sri Lanka’s and one of the world’s greatest spinners, was accused of chucking some years ago in a test match in Australia, his captain Arjuna Ranatunga, from the Sinhalese majority community, vociferously argued with the umpire over the decision and was on the verge of being thrown out for indiscipline.

But Sri Lankans here and across the world stood by their man – irrespective of whether he was Sinhalese or Tamil. They went beyond the bitter differences the two communities have had since widespread ethnic riots against the Tamils broke out in 1983, and fueled the Tamil Tigers’ war for a separate Tamil homeland.

“Cricket has been a great healer to the ethnic conflict,” muses a young Tamil accountant and a cricket fan working in Colombo. “It has cut across ethnic boundaries and discrimination.”

Cricket has also been a great beneficiary from the peace process thus far. None of the 11 teams playing in the International Cricket Council (ICC) tournament raised concerns about traveling to Colombo – a must-ask question in the past.

“There was no problem about security concerns unlike before,” says Hemaka Amarasuriya, chairman of the interim committee of Sri Lanka’s Cricket Board.

Tourism has also received a tremendous boost from the exposure off cricket. Some 5,000 spectators are arriving from all corners of the world to watch their heroes, India’s Sachin Tendulkar, Australia’s Shane Warne, Pakistan’s Shoaib Akthar or West Indies’ Brian Lara, in action.

Colombo’s hotels have been fully booked for the first time in years.

Apart from the cricket carnival and peace talks in Thailand, to the delegation that Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe is leading to New York for pro-business meetings there, this is one of those rare occasions when Sri Lanka has grabbed world attention for the right reasons instead of bombs, killings and mayhem.

However, the cricket fever also means that when peace talks between the government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) open in Thailand on Monday – the fourth negotiations in seven years and the fourth time since 1983 — cricket could play spoilsport.

As Anton Balasingham, the chief rebel negotiator, shakes hands with Prof. G L Peiris, leader of the government team, Monday, this cricket-crazy nation of 19.5 million people would be glued to television sets watching their heroes play Holland in an international game in Colombo.

“Sri Lankans are concerned about the peace talks, but in a toss-up between watching live coverage of the peace talks or the cricket, most people will opt for the cricket. That’s our culture,” says Dr C Thurairaja, an expert in sports medicine and a retired army major general.

Both the match and the peace talks start around the same time, about 1.30 p.m. local time.

The ICC tournament is the world’s biggest tournament after the World Cup, with 12 teams including Sri Lanka, India, Pakistan, Britain, Australia, the West Indies, South Africa and New Zealand taking part in the ICC Champions trophy.

Talk to youngsters on the street and their thoughts are on Monday’s cricket match. “Peace talks à what? Ahàno, no. I am watching the match,” says Sunil Thushara, an office peon in Colombo from the majority Sinhala community.

The residents of northern Jaffna peninsula, seat of the Tamil rebel demand for autonomous powers, would also be ‘forced’ to watch cricket – even if some of them also want to know what is happening in Thailand.

Of the nine television channels in Sri Lanka, only state-run Rupavahini television is planning to show the talks’ opening session. This channel, however, cannot be accessed in Jaffna.

Its sister station, Eye, can be seen there, but will be showing exclusive coverage of the 12-nation cricket tournament.

But there is little doubt that given a choice, most young Tamil rebels would also prefer to watch the cricket in their jungle hideouts on satellite television.

“I think most people prefer to watch the cricket,” says S Sripathy, a young Tamil advertising executive by telephone from Jaffna on Saturday. “There is a lot of interest in sports among the younger generation particularly now that there is peace and some tranquility.”

Though Jaffna is one of the worst cities to be battered by the 19-year-old ethnic conflict, youngsters have made sure that their studies – and sports — have not been affected.

Watching or listening to the radio when Sri Lanka’s popular cricket team is in action is also a favourite pastime by many in Jaffna, which has a predominantly Tamil population.

The Tamil Tiger guerrillas may have been fighting the Sinhalese-dominated government to win more rights for Tamils, but when it comes to cricket, they are on common turf with the rest of Sri Lanka.

During the nail-biting World Cup final in Pakistan between Sri Lanka and Australia in 1996, the Tigers are rumoured to have negotiated an unofficial truce with government troops – in order to watch the cricket matches from the northern jungles.

When Sri Lanka won that final, it was champagne for the mainly Sinhalese southerners while the Tigers in the north are said to have celebrated with homemade wine.

The young Tamil accountant adds that the spinner Muralidaran has proven that “by being the most popular person in Sri Lanka despite being a Tamil, cricket could be our saviour and bring the nation together”.

Two weeks ago, young female Tiger cadres rushed forward to shake hands with the celebrated young leg spinner when he made a memorable trip to Jaffna.

Thousands turned up at the city stadium to watch Muralidaran play in a friendly match and were not a least bit concerned when an unknown Jaffna player thrashed him for a six and a couple of fours. He was mobbed and hugged wherever he went in Jaffna.

SRI LANKA: On Eve of Talks, Cricket Helps Soothe Wounds of War

By Feizal Samath Reprint | | Print |

Feizal Samath

COLOMBO, Sep 15 2002 (IPS) - If there is one issue that has bonded communities in war-ravaged Sri Lanka, it is cricket – one of whose biggest international tournaments is underway here as the peace talks between the government and Tamil Tiger rebels start Monday.
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