|
|
|
 |
 |
 |
| Saturday, 19 June 2004 |
 |
|
 |
News | |
| News Business Features Editorial Security Politics World Letters Sports Obituaries
|
Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapakse on Thursday urged star spinner Muttiah Muralitharan to reconsider his decision to opt out of the tour to Australia. "With the team and the vast majority of the cricket loving public of the world solidly behind him, Murali should think seriously of going on the tour. We must be fair by the Australians after all," Prime Minister Rajapakse said. The Prime Minister was addressing a ceremony organised by the Tamil Union Sports Club to felicitate Muralitharan, at the Colombo Plaza. "Murali must give the Australians a chance of proving to the world whether the norms of justice, fair play, non-discrimination, dignity, honesty, transparency, honour and respect, which they so often preach to the world, are, or are not, living values of Australian society. "I am sure they are. I am confident the Australian authorities including the Australian government, and the Australian media, will ensure that these norms of a civilized society will be upheld, both on the playing field, in the match referee's cabin, and in the public stands around the grounds. So Murali, take courage and go," the Premier added. "There are not many people whose achievements have been so widely and publicly acclaimed, even if they are well known, as in the case of Mr. Muttiah Muralitharan. He is 'Murali' to us all - whether we know him or whether we don't. Why have Murali's achievements been so widely acclaimed ?," the Prime Minister queried. "Murali's courage in the face of the many obstacles that have been placed in his way, has been a lesson to many others who have shone only in sunny circumstances. Murali, on the contrary, seems to have done his best when the odds were clearly against him. "We, as a country, are at a point of time in our history, when things are not going as well as we would have liked. When we were going through a relatively dark period of our history, Murali's achievements in particular provided a massive boost to the morale of our nation. For this, as a country, we should thank him," he said. "Murali plays for the Tamil Union. He represents the Central Province. And he is the most indispensable player of the Sri Lankan team. But, as the Indian High Commissioner, Nirupam Sen said recently, Murali does not belong anymore to these teams alone. He does not belong even to Sri Lanka, any more. Murali belongs today, to the whole of Asia. To quote the words of the High Commissioner, "Murali is the pride of Asia," the Prime Minister concluded. |
|
News | Business | Features
| Editorial | Security
Produced by Lake House |
