November 16, Colombo (LNW): It is reported that Sports Director General Shemal Fernando, who went to appear in the Asia Rugby official election, was not given the opportunity to represent. The Director of Sports, in an ethically unacceptable move, appointed the Acting President of the disbanded Rugby Administration as a facilitator for Rugby, claiming it was done at the request of former Sports Minister Harin Fernando and World Rugby.
Accordingly, Director General Shemal Fernando was made the respondent by the media for many big issues. The Director General, facing allegations from the media suggesting he was manipulating the rugby agenda for personal interests, was ultimately exposed when it was revealed that the former president was preparing to attend the office election and annual general assembly of Asian Rugby held in Bangkok. Accordingly, he was not prevented from participating in that work which is against the law, and even though the Director General went to Bangkok, he was not allowed to vote in the office election.
In order to give that opportunity, due to the non-enforcement of the law regarding the damage done to the rugby in Sri Lanka, the director general has been sent to Sri Lanka empty-handed, without the intervention of the people who have gone to the Asian level. International media reports indicate that 29 votes were cast, with 17 going to the former president and 11 to Ada Milby, the president of the Philippines, who contested against him. The total comes to 28 instead of 29, as Sri Lanka’s vote was not counted. The current Asian president did not get the vote in Sri Lanka for the first time, and the then president who left to vote used the vote for the Japanese candidate who was competing against him at the time.
Because of that resentment, the Asia President was able to facilitate matters such as not considering discrimination against Sri Lanka because the Ministers, former and those who hope to enter the administration as well as government officials stood up for the needs of the Asia President.
The true intent behind this desire became clear when the unusual administrative body known as the Stabilization Committee, appointed by Minister Roshan Ranasinghe and later declared invalid by the court, was established. At the very outset, they attempted to alter the existing constitution by highlighting the need for changes that would grant power to rugby-playing clubs of that caliber.
We have repeatedly pointed out that the Director General of Sports is confined to serving their interests, with those who have agendas lurking in front of him to target the foundation. The demand for power by those sports clubs emerged primarily due to the continuous and repeated revelations by lankanewsweb.net. They are avoiding the issue of Sri Lanka Rugby’s 55 million debt while those in power at the sports clubs they refer to hold authority. The representatives of these clubs, who claim to have or can secure assets to spend millions on rugby, fail to mention the problem of the 55 million debt in Sri Lanka Rugby’s account.
Furthermore, they remain silent on the fact that the £50 fine should be imposed on those who represented the administration, which stated that the fine should be deducted from the funds allocated for the development of rugby in Sri Lanka. This is because these individuals were appointed through the sports clubs that are demanding power. In the process of socializing these matters and continuously informing the public through the media, they seem to believe that they can conceal the truth by gaining more power. This belief led them to engage in the effort to change the constitution, aiming to create this influence.
Once the Stabilization Committee is appointed, you will witness a word made by its chairman in the context of introducing other sports clubs, in addition to the 8 clubs he names, as part of the comparative matters discussion. “Not even a clubhouse” The sports clubs he says do not have this shortcoming. They are places where you can taste liquor in royal style. How many times have the annual evaluations of the stadium buildings and the income they generate been altered? What is the valuation of a construction or business in relation to such venues? We are not implying that they should not receive concessions.
Such things need to happen for the sake of the game. However, in our view, it is unethical to suggest that those who seek to rise through such luxuries, while belittling and devaluing the struggles and difficult conditions of the same sport, should wield the power they possess. If those who came from very humble beginnings, not just in the world but also in our country, had given up because of their circumstances, today there would be no president named Anura Kumara Dissanayake in this country. That is the truth. Therefore, even though these top sports clubs feel through this video that they are royally taking the key to rule the rugby and are humiliating and embarrassing other sports clubs, they are taking over the heavy task of reducing inequalities from the lower stage to the upper stage of the people and trying to adjust the system of the state accordingly. Will a ruling government agree to this constitutional amendment?
Dinesh Priyanth is a man who knows the world around his village as well as Anura Kumara understands the world politically. Had he studied with the most limited resources, qualified as a soldier, gone to war, and not been disabled, he would not have had to take up the spear to strive for the conquest of the world. Such an unfortunate inheritance was a gift for him, but how many stories are there of people who simply fell by the wayside due to the lack of sports in those schools?
Even today, when we read the 100 meters race with the character of Mudalihami, which we learned as children, we see children from distant villages who encounter many moments where they aspire to become like Mudalihami.
We believe that not only the rulers of the state but also government officials, whether knowingly or unknowingly, have played a part in enabling the effort to seize power for these elite sports clubs. The reason for this may lie in the platform we have created for those who have borrowed and had to pay fines, highlighting the need for different constitutional changes. We take pride in that. By pointing out issues such as collecting debts from the royal class, holding wrongdoers accountable without paying the fines incurred for their mistakes from the development funds received from World Rugby, and at least investigating and punishing those wrongs, the royal sports clubs were criticized.
We have come to understand that the conflict in Rugby field represents a battle of a class determined to protect the princes who make decisions and are responsible for these mistakes. As far as we know, there are no individuals in that royal society who think in terms of class, placing sports clubs in the same category as schools.
A clear example of this is National People’s Power and Prime Minister Harini Amarasuriya. However, there are old minds who still cannot accept the power of the less influential, and they continue to chatter and make jokes. They only engage with the country through songs they sing for fun, once their own class’s needs are fulfilled. We are aware that this unfortunate situation is still impacting the Director General of Sports.
We raised all these concerns now, respecting his history of capable and honest administration. Much of what has been discussed here is information he has been aware of for some time. We believe that, despite offering watered-down responses to many of these issues, he must understand the seriousness of the situation. The clearest example of this is the obstruction of the election held in Bangkok, along with blaming the facilitator for how it was conducted. However, we believe there is more to this situation than what we are aware of.
Thanuja Weerakkodi, a highly talented player who represented Sri Lanka, is currently going abroad for a women’s rugby development program. There is no doubt about her talent. However, in the current situation, it is unclear which leader she has aligned herself with.
If those expenses are covered by Rugby’s accounts, it represents a serious mistake in using Rugby’s funds for months without transferring control to a constitutionally appointed administration.
All these actions are closely related to wrongdoing. While there may be ways to untangle some of the issues, the knots of conscience will torment them until the end. The response given by the Director General of Sports, who is taken aback by all of this, is brief, yet it carries a deeper meaning: “When the new minister is appointed, we will meet after the meeting!”
We believe there is much to unpack in the response given by the Director General of Sports. Not all citizens have perished in a country where power was once determined by the worship of the cobra rising from the Kelani River. If they are caught at this moment and the rust and decay of their intellect are not removed, not only the corruption but other flaws will rise to the surface, appearing like lifeless corpses.
