http://www.channel4.com/news/the-sri-lankan-soldiers-whose-hearts-turned-to-stone

http://www.channel4.com/news/sri-lanka-war-crimes-soldiers-ordered-to-finish-the-job

I do agree with a lot of what you are saying, but what I value most about Kumars speech is the fact that he called a spade a spade, in a very diplmatic way. I truly feel he was right on the boundary line, meaning, if he had been a fragment more harsh on the govt, he would have been in trouble. MR himself had to hail the speech after many weeks of contemplation. Given the circumstances, the speech was invaluable. Others, including you and me need to emulate him in our own spheres of existence.

The author unfairly trivializes Sanga’s anecdotes about gradual reduction of elitism in cricket, the importance of cricket towards reconciliation, and — at least from my reading — the allegory that the trajectory of Sri Lankan cricket provides in thinking about our politics and our identity in this post-conflict era.

Sanga’s speech is about the history of cricket in Sri Lanka but in identifying his frustrations with the SLC he establishes an important precedent of dissent from a popular Sri Lankan personality without the repercussions that ordinarily follow it. For anyone who believes that political restructuring will not happen through violent change, but rather through a gradual easing of controls on expression, acceptance of the democratic will of minorities and in attitudes towards our collective past, this would seem to be a non-trivial step.

Moreover, I don’t think underscoring the sacrifices of the armed forces or the fear with which ordinary Sri Lankans lived during the civil war is a Sinhala Nationalist position. To suggest the former is needlessly divisive rhetoric that is ignorant of the suffering of ordinary Sri Lankans who felt resigned to the vagaries of indiscriminate violence, and their children who marched in to a seemingly endless war.

Casting Arjuna as his anti-thesis would also seem misplaced. A simple fact is that Arjuna was invited to address the Oxford Union in 2010 (arguably a more prestigious institution than the MCC), and his (excellent) speech was greeted with rapturous applause. That fact aside, it is unfair to limit the appeal of Sanga to the elite of Sri Lanka simply because of the circumstance of his upbringing. Arjuna, like Sanga have carried the hopes of Sri Lankans from many walks of life and their admiration extends to Sinhalese and Tamil diaspora communities, Tamils in Tamil Nadu and beyond.

I don’t think anyone expects cricket to actually sow the seeds of reconciliation or to be a substitute for real (institutional) political change. The kind reconciliation that cricket can provide is a starting point for a shared sense of a Sri Lankan identity, both because of its history in crafting a distinctively Sri Lankan brand of cricket (i.e. the allegory) and because of what it means to ordinary Sri Lankans (‘appe kollo’), even those displaced by conflict.

It matters little what the actual ethnic composition of the team is (this is presumably a function of the distribution of talent, access to resources and the respective sizes of ethnic communities in Sri Lanka) the point is that Sri Lankans of varying socio-economic and ethnic positions for once have common ambitions and a common admiration in an institution that seeks to represent them. To ask whether Jayasuriya represents the concerns of the disadvantaged of Matara is nonsensical. He is an entertainer, one who can provide a sense of pride and inspiration, not a politician tasked with representing a constituency’s interests.

Talking about the development of cricket in the North and East, is a step towards inclusivity and more importantly a step towards instilling a sense of normalcy to these areas. Reconciliation no doubt requires us to understand the history of the war, but we have a unique opportunity in our post-independence history to craft a sense of shared belonging and purpose that can lead to a lasting ethnic solution, and cricket provides a means (and surely not the only one) through which we might achieve this.

Perhaps most importantly, there is no sanitized account of the last days of the war in Sanga’s speech. There is no account of the last days of the war in his speech, period. There needn’t be, since Sanga isn’t talking about the war. The author’s article, while eloquently crafted would appear to be an example of needlessly knee-jerk contrarianism. As such, it does little to add substance to this debate apart from perhaps rightfully ridiculing the SLC’s performance antics in the World Cup. Of course, with that as its contribution, it could have been a lot shorter.

To critique Sangakkara’s speech, it also needs to be taken in context with his speech after the finals when accepting the runner-up trophy, where he was barracking for the Rajapakses wholeheartedly (almost to the point of a***-licking).
Also to remember is the matter regarding the non-meeting with the Dalai Lama during the IPL game in Dhamansala.

I feel if Sangakkara wanted to genuinely strike a blow against the present regime, he could have included an explanation of his above actions in the MCC speech.

The garment company is now using the ”popularity” of Sangakkara to get a foothold in the North.

Instead of a suitable sustainable development planned by its people, haphazard ”gimmicks” pass as ”development” of the North.

Dayan

Pl press your President to let appropriate people plan sustainable development of the devastated Northeast.

The only really politically cynical statement he made was against the JVP and in this his stance remarkably coincides with Dayan Jayathilleke. But unlike Jayathilleke, he has no axe to grind against the JVP in terms of blame deflected to it for the spontaneous humiliation meted out on Dayan by an angry crowd. I have to assume that much like I was a few years ago, Sanga is merely ignorant and politically naive about the real state of politics in Sri Lanka. OTOH he is more likely to be a very shrewd servant of certain political genre.

Whatever the case Sanga did his job well , much like Lakshman Kadirigamar.

The reason Aluthgamage is acting like a rabid dog is because it is his nature and also because he and his ilk were directly attacked by Sanga. Just because the Rajapakses praised Sanga does not mean that he has not made enemies there. For, the attack on politics in cricket must reflect on their culture of impunity. They will wait and plot for Sanga’s downfall should dare enter politics. They will certainly attempt to muzzle him behind closed doors.

The author makes a valuable contribution to the political debate stirred by Sanga.

I wonder if Groundviews should invite an expert with knowledge of the true JVP history to write an article or two on this site. It is time that those who have been ignorant or in denial were educated.

Making the comment to the Air Force media before departing to Jaffna on the 25th day of the ‘Trail’ – a fund raising walk to build a children’s cancer ward in Jaffna, Sangakkara also hailed the project vowing to give his fullest support.

Sangakkara flew to Jaffna from Katunayake on a Helitours Antanov 32 flight of the Air Force.

Commenting on the fund raising walk, Sangakkara said this was a much needed worthy cause deserving maximum support, the Air Force website said.
Sangakkara also hailed the service provided by SLAF’s Helitours saying it had the potential to reach international level.

Courtesy – Sri Lanka Air Force