04/07/2008.
The gruesome assassination of Sri Lanka’s highways minister Jeyaraj Fernandopulle at a sports event yesterday demonstrates the LTTE’s willingness to go to any extent to eliminate whoever they consider to be the enemies of their increasingly lonely and desperate cause.
That the suspected suicide bomber came in the guise of an athlete at a marathon competition which Fernandopulle was to inaugurate also sends out a chilling signal because terrorists have never before struck at sports gatherings in the country, a fact that has been highlighted several times in the past especially when international teams talked about cancelling their tours to Sri Lanka.
Sri Lankan cricket officials have always talked about the presence of Tamil players in the national team – most notably Muthiah Muralitharan – as an insurance policy against violent rebel attacks, but after yesterday’s incident on the outskirts of Colombo, they are definitely bound to view things a bit differently.
Despite all the reports about personality clashes and infighting within the LTTE set-up and the Sri Lankan forces’ ascendancy over them in recent times, the fact remains that they still maintain the ability to strike with impunity.
It would have come as a blow to the morale of the security forces that the LTTE managed to pull off the assassination despite Fernandopulle being one of the most tightly guarded politicians in the country who was protected by the elite Special Task Force.
Among the 13 others killed were Sri Lanka’s leading athletics coach Lakshman de Silva and some local sportsmen, thus frighteningly broadening the canvas of the nearly four-decade old conflict which has clamed tens of thousands of lives so far.With Sri Lanka preparing for a busy season ahead – which includes a Test tour by India in July – the cricket board would be extremely wary of any escalation in the crisis that would hurt the game, not to speak of their finances.
For all practical purposes cricket is the only sport that matters in Sri Lanka and it would be a tragedy for the island nation if future trips are cancelled over terrorism fears.
The Sri Lankan cricket board is already reeling under a financial crisis and has asked their cash-rich Indian counterparts for help. Against this background any cancellation could deal the sport in the country a deathly blow.
Sri Lankan security agencies undoubtedly have a big task on hand, but pitted against a ruthless and committed outfit such as the LTTE, it would be difficult for them to guarantee a 100% success.
It’s stating the obvious, but suicide bombers, after all, are a totally different proposition.
The gruesome assassination of Sri Lanka’s highways minister Jeyaraj Fernandopulle at a sports event yesterday demonstrates the LTTE’s willingness to go to any extent to eliminate whoever they consider to be the enemies of their increasingly lonely and desperate cause.
That the suspected suicide bomber came in the guise of an athlete at a marathon competition which Fernandopulle was to inaugurate also sends out a chilling signal because terrorists have never before struck at sports gatherings in the country, a fact that has been highlighted several times in the past especially when international teams talked about cancelling their tours to Sri Lanka.
Sri Lankan cricket officials have always talked about the presence of Tamil players in the national team – most notably Muthiah Muralitharan – as an insurance policy against violent rebel attacks, but after yesterday’s incident on the outskirts of Colombo, they are definitely bound to view things a bit differently.
Despite all the reports about personality clashes and infighting within the LTTE set-up and the Sri Lankan forces’ ascendancy over them in recent times, the fact remains that they still maintain the ability to strike with impunity.
It would have come as a blow to the morale of the security forces that the LTTE managed to pull off the assassination despite Fernandopulle being one of the most tightly guarded politicians in the country who was protected by the elite Special Task Force.
Among the 13 others killed were Sri Lanka’s leading athletics coach Lakshman de Silva and some local sportsmen, thus frighteningly broadening the canvas of the nearly four-decade old conflict which has clamed tens of thousands of lives so far.With Sri Lanka preparing for a busy season ahead – which includes a Test tour by India in July – the cricket board would be extremely wary of any escalation in the crisis that would hurt the game, not to speak of their finances.
For all practical purposes cricket is the only sport that matters in Sri Lanka and it would be a tragedy for the island nation if future trips are cancelled over terrorism fears.
The Sri Lankan cricket board is already reeling under a financial crisis and has asked their cash-rich Indian counterparts for help. Against this background any cancellation could deal the sport in the country a deathly blow.
Sri Lankan security agencies undoubtedly have a big task on hand, but pitted against a ruthless and committed outfit such as the LTTE, it would be difficult for them to guarantee a 100% success.
It’s stating the obvious, but suicide bombers, after all, are a totally different proposition.
No comments:
Post a Comment