Fraternity amidst distress

There were many positives that emerged from Tuesday's Lahore horror chief of which is the strident outcry by the civilised world on the need to stamp out international terrorism. Obviously this unprecedented attack on a national sports team have spurred such a response which is bound to snowball in the coming days which world leaders would be hard pressed to ignore.

Especially in the wake of a genuine fear that this attack would set the tone for similar attacks on sports contingents which hitherto were spared by terror outfits in their deadly missions.

No doubt many lessons would have been learnt by this attack pertaining to security, particularly the fact that terrorists no longer pick and chose their targets in their anarchial projects, which would make countries more wary and on their guard when hosting international sporting events.

For that matter all international events such as summits and multi-lateral forums would see unprecedented security in the host country putting the world on heightened awareness for terrorists attacks. If these lessons are learnt and counter measures taken and more important a concerted efforts made collectively to rid the world of the terrorist menace, then some consolation could be extracted from the horrendous events of Tuesday.

What also emerged out of the attack was a spirit of fraternity and shared sentiment at the unprecedented happening. Today we carry in our opposite page several letters by Pakistani nationals expressing genuine regret and commiseration with our cricketers on their harrowing ordeal. Such outpouring of sentiment no doubt can only be reserved for sportsmen that gave vent to this fraternal feeling. All Sri Lankans no doubt would accept these sentiments in the right spirit even amidst the pain over the ordeal endured by their cricketing heroes.

Full credit is due to Mahela and his boys for standing tall amidst the chaos and taking things as they would, on the half volley. All Lankans are proud of their conduct. They never once blamed their hosts for their predicament but had only words of praise and appreciation for the prompt attention received amidst the tumult. The overwhelming emotions of Pakistani fans may certainly have sprung out of gratitude towards the Lankan players who took the challenge to tour their country which had been a no go zone for sporting events.

The gallant Lankans no doubt repaid their debt by making the tour as a mark of gratitude to the earlier visit made by Pakistan(and India) when we were similarly ostracised by international teams. It is this type of camaraderie that go a long way in cementing ties with our regional neighbours much more effectively than a political summit could achieve.

There were also eeri parallels making Tuesday's incident more significant in many ways. Five Pakistani policemen were killed trying to protect our cricketers during the Lahore attack. One recalls the LTTE suicide attack carried out in Colombo targeting the convoy of the Pakistani High Commissioner to Sri Lanka Basheer Wali Mohammed. Five Sri Lankans Commandos died in this attack in August 2006. The Pakistani Government while condemning the attack paid tribute to the soldiers who sacrificed their lives and specially condoled with the bereaved families.

The Government no doubt would take cognizance of this fact and respond in kind to the families of the slain Pakistani policemen. Special tribute is also due to the driver of the coach transporting the team who drove the vehicle into the Gaddafi stadium amid continuing gun fire which act saved the lives of our cricketers. This fact has been attributed to by the Lankan cricketers.

Sri Lanka as a country which had borne the brunt of terrorism for over three decades could certainly empathise with the plight of Pakistan. The country should be given all support and assistance to emerge out of this situation. It is in this light that one should condemn the many TV spotlights attempting to demonise Pakistan. Sri Lanka too was one time a victim of this ostracisation by countries, which affected our country's economy and damaged its good name.

Those baying for Pakistan's blood should instead strive to help that country out of its present predicament. These elements who are using Tuesday's attack to drive knife into an already battered and bruised nation should take a leaf out Sri Lanka which has conducted itself with equanimity towards a friendly neighbour despite being at the receiving end of a dastardly terror attack on its soil.

Such name calling certainly would not auger well for regional cooperation that is often the by word at international summits. Besides this can only antagonise Pakistan and place road blocks in the campaign to defeat terrorism. As for the Lankan cricketers they have to regroup and banish the incident as a bad dream. The world has to move on and harbouring fears and misgivings can only induce negativity. The nightmare experience no doubt is bound to haunt many of our players. The sooner they shake off the effect the better it would be for Sri Lanka's cricket and the country as a whole.