Sports without politics – will the miracle happen?

The recent notice by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to Sri Lanka sports officials has far reaching consequences on this country’s sports than it appears on the surface. Empty boasts of local officials fuelled by their bloated egos will not carry Sri Lanka anywhere in this issue. Playing to a local gallery may buy the votes of the gullible villager but it is not likely to amuse the IOC officials, who are well aware of how politicians of the third world exploit the local conditions for their benefit.

We saw how the sports minister turned this issue upside down and launched a personal attack on the National Olympic Committee (NOC) chairman Hemasiri Fernanado on Monday in parliament. But unfortunately the issue here is not who brought up the discrepancies of Sri Lanka Sports Law, but the fact that an international entity has easily identified an alarming case of blatant political interference in Sri Lanka’s sports. It is common knowledge in this country and has widely been accepted simply as the way of life. All citizens believed politicians have a God given right to interfere in sports according to their whims and fancies. That is why it was unacceptable for Fernando to bring the matter to the notice of the IOC and “bring disrepute to the country”.

But now it appears that there is another point of view out there in the wide world. Sports are sacred and should be played by the rules while politics have no part to play in it.

The notion that IOC has ordered the Sri Lanka government to change the country’s law that has been passed by the “supreme” parliament is a gross misrepresentation of facts. IOC simply has no right to do it. But IOC certainly can lay down a few rules and ask all its member countries to abide by them.

It is not a must, but if any member doesn’t feel like falling in line, they are always free to do so. The hitch however will be that they will simply lose their membership of the world body!

One of the aspects of the Olympic Charter is to ensure that politics don’t interfere with sports.

It is not much different from United Nations (UN) raising issues about Sri Lanka’s human rights. Sri Lanka is a sovereign nation and can handle its own affairs as they please. But, if the UN at large feels that the country is not falling in line, they might consider UN sanctions.

So, the good news is that Sri Lanka does not need to change the sports law as IOC wants. Instead they can have the present law in place and play all sports and games within the country. It happened to South Africa in the 1970’s and 80’s when the country decided to stick to the apartheid rule and chose sporting isolation from the world.

It would have been likely that South African sports minister and his government of the time saw it more important to stick to their apartheid rule than what the outside world wanted. As a result South Africa did not take part in any in- ternational sports events for two decades. It is very much a prospect for Sri Lanka too, if we think political interference in sports is a more important necessity than taking part in “meaningless” international engagements.

IOC is not a hollow statue. Last December IOC suspended India from their membership for similar charges as Sri Lanka faces today. If they can ban a mighty nation like India, Sri Lanka is obviously no big deal for them. Laughable mock threats at them or meaningless tirades will not carry Sri Lanka anywhere in the world’s sporting map. The one and only way forward is changing the sports law. There are no compromises, no dodging, no pussy-footing.

Sri Lanka is not alone in this situation. Another South Asian country Pakistan and Ecuador are two countries which have already been threatened by IOC with suspensions if sports laws supporting political interference are not changed. Sierra Leone and Egypt are also under surveillance by IOC for similar charges.

The political cancer seems to be getting so widespread in the world of sports that forming an alternate World Olympic Committee of countries banned by IOC over political interference, may also become a possibility in near future. So, Sri Lanka can take heart as all seems to be not lost !!

But what will happen if Sri Lanka follows IOC guidelines on revising the country’ sports law? It will be a completely different and strange scenario. I do not think any Sri Lankan would be able to dream of a situation where the national selectors of sports teams not appointed by the sports minister, national sports teams need not be ratified by the sports minister, officials contesting elections of local sports bodies all having required qualifications, sports minister not requiring to give approval to contestants of national sports associations, sports minister unable to dissolve elected national sports bodies and appointing interim committees.

Believe it or not, these would be part of the stunning changes that might actually happen if Sri Lanka decides that they should keep membership of IOC at all cost and avoid international sporting isolation. Sounds more amazing than the wonderland which Alice saw!

Not so long ago, International Cricket Council (ICC) also decided not to recognize member bodies that are not duly elected but are appointed politically. The famous Haroon Lorgat report on local cricket also mentioned diplomatically about the bane of political influence in sports.

After all, as so many of these foreigners see, there might be something wrong with politics interfering with sports, though we Sri Lankans do not understand it. Is Hemasiri Fernando a traitor who informed the world of Sri Lanka’s sports laws? History will answer that question.

Fernando, in a media release last week explained that though sports law has been in existence since 1973, the new regulations intro- duced by the present minister Mahindanda Aluthgamage resulted in sports being completely controlled by the sports minister. These regulations are not hidden. It is pretty clear that the new regulations consolidate the powers that had already been vested with the Sports minister and makes him a virtual allmighty dictator. It is these regulations which have alarmed the IOC.

Interestingly, Fernando is also a man who wields immense political power. He was the Secretary to the prime minister under Sirima Bandaranaike. When the UNP’s 17 year reign of the country ended in 1994, one of the most significant changes took place in the NOC. There was a massive wave of calling for a change at the NOC helm which had been held for long years by Roy de Silva and his secretary Prema Pinnawale. Many cried that their term of office was too long.

It was no secret that the then sports minister S.B. Dissanayake was instrumental in changing the NOC hierarchy and installing his friend Fernando as the new president. Fernando’s reign was equally long drawn and it lasted for 16 years. It was no secret that Fernando enjoyed much heavier political clout than his predecessors and was immovable.

In 2005, the then sports minister Jeevan Kumaratunga introduced and passed an amendment to the sports law in parliament. It was pretty obvious that the aim of the new regulation was to strengthen Fernando’s hold on NOC office. Till that amendment came, NOC officials were allowed to hold only two fouryear terms in office. The amendment Kumaratunga presented in parliament did away with this regulation and allowed the office bearers to continue for an indefinite number of terms.

It was also against IOC’s practice of only two terms for office bearers. Interestingly the minister passed this law in a hurry, bypassing the National Sports Council (NSC) which is in place to advice the minister on important issues but had strangely been kept in the dark over these important sports law changes. At the time NSC headed by Saman Amarasinghe protested this move openly and criticized it saying it could lead to perpetual office bearers at NOC.

It was no secret that Fernando benefitted massively from the move and went on to hold onto his position for two more four-year terms. Arjuna Ranatunga, the then deputy minister of tourism of the PA government was one person who raised a voice against the move at the time.

It is pretty clear that Fernando himself was a prime beneficiary of the political influence on sports in this country. Minister Kumaratunga maintains a strong bond with Fernando todate and has appointed him as the Secretary of his Ministry – postal affairs.

It is an ironic quirk of fate that Fernando now has to fight against political interference and minister’s powers affecting autonomy of sports bodies, but what is heartening is the world of good it can usher in for Sri Lanka’s sports tomorrow.