Special Correspondent
The Students Federation for Free Eelam is planning to petition the city police commissioner to urge him not to grant permission for the IPL cricket matches in Chennai, if Sri Lankan players are participating. The first IPL match this season is to be played between Chennai Super Kings and Mumbai Indians at the M.A. Chidambaram stadium on April 6. The Tamil Nadu Cricket Association’s application seeking a public resort licence to conduct the match is pending with the city police.
The federation’s state coordinator, V. Prabhakaran, said letters would be written to the Board of Control for Cricket in India, IPL team owners as well as stadium authorities to not permit Sri Lankans to play in Chennai as it would hurt the sentiments of Tamils in the State. “A decision to this effect was taken after a majority of youth, who responded to a questionnaire in Chennai on Sunday, concurred with our view that Sri Lankan players should not be allowed to play in Chennai,” he said. Earlier in the day, several teams of students went around distributing hundreds of questionnaires to youth in the city. Some of the questions were – are you aware of the Sri Lankan issue? Should Sri Lankan players be allowed to play IPL in Chennai? Do you support the ongoing students’ protests?
Mr. Prabhakaran said questionnaires were distributed at beaches, malls and residential areas. He said a majority of the youth responded saying they were aware of the Sri Lankan issue and that protests blocking road traffic or trains disrupted their routine. “We have decided to avoid such agitations hereafter. Almost all of those surveyed extended their support to our cause. However, they were not against Sri Lankans playing in other States,” he added.
On Saturday, student coordinators of at least 60 colleges had met at Valluvar Kottam to discuss the next course of action. A think tank was formed and student teams were assigned to study the possibility of communicating with the international community, the Tamil diaspora and the United Nations on the necessity for an independent, international probe into war crimes in Sri Lanka, he said.
// Keywords: anti-Sinhalese sentiments, IPL, Eelam war, LTTE, anti-Sri Lanka protest, student protest
This is an interesting, if worrying development. I’m not an expert, but I assume the vast majority of pro Sri Lankan cricketers and administrators are Sinhalese?
YES. and that is due to (A) where the best schools have been over historical time – though the filed is now expanding and (B) because in the present expanded Domestic League there is noly ONe -repeat one – Tamil cricketer, namely ANGELO MATTHews [now that Muali has retired]. For over 20 years or so the TAMIL UNION CCC has had hardly any Tamilc ricketers (Damein Nadarajah in the 1990s and Murali come to mind) though most of its adminstrators are Tamil gentlemen. but inseert “murali Cup”in google and follow that promising dimension –whether it bears tamil cricketing fruit at the highest level is to be seen.
Wouldn’t the Civil War have had some effect on it to, and be part of the reason why Tamils in India are calling for the boycott?
Of course. but there also internal competitive issues in Tamilnadu I expect –namely outbidding each other for votes etc. ……standard politics man!