IMF FACILITY, ETHNIC HARMONY AND SPORTS DIPLOMACY

During the past few months, the single most talked-about subject in our country has been - whether the country would receive the IMF bailout package or not. The president seemed confident the country would successfully achieve the target.

His political opponents played the role of ‘devil’s advocate’, warning that the postponement of local government elections could dampen the chances of receiving the facility.

‘Sajith Premadasa’ - the Leader of the Opposition however, took another tack, claiming a future Sri Lankan government under the opposition Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) is not obliged to support deals with the International Monetary Fund or any other international funding agency as the current government does not have mandate to sign such agreements. (January 30, 2023)

The country was left wondering as to whether Premadasa was trying to scuttle a possible IMF deal. The following day, another vociferous member of the SJB claimed that it was not what his leader meant etc. etc.

The Tamil political parties in the north and the leading upcountry political party had earlier expressed their support to the president as he had promised to bring to fruition a solution to the problems of minority communities.

By March 21, the good news was that the IMF had agreed to provide the debt re-structuring facility. While these tidings of success were being played out on the international stage, an event of equally great or even greater significance was being played out at the Ananda College cricket grounds.

Ananda College Colombo a leading Lankan Buddhist school was playing against the Jaffna Hindu College team - the peninsula’s leading Tamil school. The cricket match goes way beyond a mere sporting event.

The event - a brain-child of a past Ananda cricket captain Sanjiva Senanayake, had its origins in 2011 - two years after the ethnic war was brought to an end. Senanayake’s goal was to make cricket more than a mere contest in sports. The venue would alternate between Jaffna and Colombo.

Jaffna Hindu College was picked in honour of V. T. S. Sivagurunathan, a product of Jaffna Hindu College, who was a teacher and head master at Ananda for 25 years from 1916 to 1941. Sivagurunathan was an important contributor to the phenomenal growth that took place at Ananda during that period.

So important was Sivagurunathan that he was invited as Chief Guest at Ananda’s prize-giving in 1958 - the only teacher who was not a school Principal, to be so honoured.

The aim of the project (Ananda-jaffna Hindu College match) was to use cricket and sport as catalysts to promote bonds of friendship between Sinhalese and Tamils which were brutally torn apart since the pogrom of July 1983 and the near three-decade-long period of terrorism and counter terrorism which followed.

The event which originally started as a cricket match between to two colleges in 2012 has now grown into a much larger sports cum cultural event. This year’s event includes a first eleven cricket match between current cricketers, an Old Boy’s T20 match for the Arjuna Ranatunga Shield. A basketball match, a chess competition, English debates between the two schools and quiz competition ‘Blues vs Maroons’. Among the players at the T20 match was World Cup winning captain Ranatunga.

Despite the near daily call for strikes by various trade unions, the Opposition parties demand for the timely holding of local government elections and other distractions, a large gathering witnessed the match which has taken on the atmosphere of a carnival of goodwill between people of different cultures, communities and races.

Ananda College and Jaffna Hindu College have set an example of fostering harmony between our diverse communities. The two schools are to be congratulated for their groundbreaking effort - especially at a time when communal passions were running high.

Perhaps, other schools and even business corporates could follow their example and organize events which will lead to breaking the isolation of minority communities.

It is only when we bridge the racial, ethnic and religious divide and are able think of ourselves as Sri Lankans, will our country be able to develop and create an equitable living space for all its citizens.