Sanga's Lords speech

Kumar Sangakkara Speech at Lords :

http://mcc.sportslinemedia.co.uk/cowdrey-lecture.html

Former Sri Lankan captain Kumar Sangakkara launched scathing attack against the cricket establishment in the country for indulging in corrupt practices which he feels needs to be eradicated at the earliest. In an hour-long speech during the MCC's Spirit of Cricket lecture at the Lord's, Sangakkara charted the unique history of cricket in his country, and called on Sri Lanka Cricket to root out its corrupt practices, and recognise the huge role that the sport now needs to play in promoting reconciliation at the end of a 30-year civil war. Terming the 1996 World Cup victory as something that unified the country Sangakkara feels the historic event changed the dynamics of the SLC. He said that change happened as it turned "from a volunteer-led organisation run by well-meaning men of integrity into a multimillion-dollar organisation that has been in turmoil ever since." Although he didn't take Sanath Jayasuriya's name, but he did express his displeasure at how Jayasuriya who is a sitting MP was recalled into the team for a one-off T20 and the first ODI. Without naming names, Sangakkara voiced his concern at the direction the sport in his country is now heading. "Players from within the team itself became involved in power games within the board," he said. "Officials elected to power in this way in turn manipulated player loyalty to achieve their own ends. At times, board politics would spill over into the team causing rift, ill feeling and distrust," he was quoted as saying. .

Sri Lanka proves the fake nature of the Channel Four Video at the UN

It has been emphasized to act swiftly and efficiently by the diplomatic missions to defeat international conspiracies such as Darusman report and Channel Four video. Aan international expert on eradication of terrorism Prof. Rohan Gunarathne points out that the LTTE which was militarily defeated in Sri Lanka is now actively engaged politically abroad . He says that the LTTE seem to be using human rights organizations and media as a cats paw to achieve their aimss. Prof.Gunarathne said that UN permanent representative and his deputy were able to prove that the Channel Four video was a fake. Therefore he said that this example should be followed by other diplomatic missions abroad. However he pointed out the need to create a mechanism to response to the propaganda of pro-LTTE elements. Lakbima news Chief Editor Rajpal Abeynayake says that information to nullify such charges against Sri Lanka could be found from the international arena. He says that Sunday Times of London has revealed the fake nature of the Channel Four video. Mr. Abeynayake further said that by communicating such information to other countries Sri Lanka can eliminate false rumours about the country. Chief editor of the Island News Paper Shamindra Ferdinando says that diplomatic service has to respond first to reference ot the co-untry abroad. He says that Sri Lanka should device a method to communicate such information to other countries with the active participation of the diplomatic service. He appreciated the efforts taken by Deputy UN Representative Major General Shavendra Silva to prove the fake nature of the video with clear evidence. He further pointed out that Sri Lanka’s permanent UN representatives and his deputy were able to prove with evidence the contradictory series of incidents shown in the video.

-article from Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation