Tuesday, March 3, 2009

Not Cricket! Sri Lanka's Cricket Team Attacked in Pakistan

Sri Lanka's government is ticked off, America's President Obama is "deeply concerned," at least seven police officers are dead, and eight Sri Lankan cricketers wounded.

This time, unpleasantness in a Muslim country isn't 'the fault of the Jews.'

'India did it.'

I'm dubious, myself, but a chap with a very impressive title in Pakistan said so.

Pakistani Minister: Indian Terrorism Killed Cricketers

I'll give the Pakistani minister for Ports and Shipping credit for showing khutzpah. Where westerners might assume that the Taliban or Al Qaeda were behind this attack, Nabeel Gabol blamed India.

'Obviously,' since a bunch of terrorists (apparently) based in Pakistan hit Mumbai, India hit Pakistan. Given what seems to be the cultural norm in the Middle East, Nabeel Gabol may really believe what he said:

"A Pakistani minister blamed arch-rival India for a brazen attack on a visiting Sri Lankan cricket team in the northeastern city of Lahore on Tuesday, March 3, that killed seven people and wounding others, including five players.

" 'This is an attack on Pakistan," Federal Minister for Ports and Shipping Nabeel Gabol told IslamOnline.net.

" 'There is no doubt about Indian involvement in this terrorist attack.'..." (IslamOnline.net)

Dead Cops, Wounded Cricketers, Al Qaeda, India, and the Lizard People

Pakistan's Federal Minister for Ports and Shipping may be right. Maybe someone in the Indian government went stark, raving, moonbat crazy, and ordered a hit on the Sri Lankan cricket team. Just to spite Pakistan.

Or, maybe the shape-shifting lizard people who run the world used hypnosis rays from invisible satellites to make Indian authorities commit this atrocity.

I think it's less likely that David Icke's space alien shape shifting lizard people were involved, than that the Indian government ordered the attack on cricketers. But I don't think either possibility is all that likely. And, no, I don't think the lizard people are real.

Maybe I'm being 'simplistic,' but I think it's a bit more likely that the Taliban, Al Qaeda, or some other group that really doesn't want Pakistan and India to get along, or doesn't like cricket, shot up the Sri Lankan cricket team.

Anti-Cricket Terrorists in South Asia? Ethnic Activists with Poor Judgment?

It's possible - although maybe not likely - that the people who attacked the Sri Lankan cricketers are from Sri Lanka, themselves. The Tamil Tigers (AKA Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam or LTTE) want their own ethnic group to have an independent homeland. And, don't seem to care how many people they have to kill to get their way.
Digression: Getting What You Want isn't All its Cracked Up to Be
If the Sri Lankan government was run by amoral people, who had studied Machiavelli, they might give the Tamil Tigers exactly what they want. Sri Lanka isn't all that big a country to begin with, and Mullaitivu district (the colorful spot on that map of Sri Lanka) is even smaller.

Micronations don't always do so well. Survivors in Tamil territory might be willing to abandon dreams of their 14th century heyday, after a reality check.

Not that all Tamils are behind the separatists: quite a few have left Sri Lanka entirely.

Time to get back on topic.

Death to the Cricketers?! Beware Unintended Consequences

Whoever is responsible for attacking a cricket team in Pakistan, they may not like what happens next. Cricket is rather popular in south Asia, it seems: think football (soccer, for American readers) in England, Brazil, and other parts of the world.

There will be that flash of publicity, and maybe they'll reach their immediate goals.

But, I remember the Munich Olympics, 1972. 'Palestinian rights activists' killed 11 Israeli athletes and got on the international news. Huge publicity coup for them. In America, though, it was around that time that reporters stopped repeating terrorists' press releases verbatim, began using verbs like "kill" where they used to say "execute," when a Jew or other oppressor died abruptly while in the company of a terrorist - and started calling terrorists 'terrorists' more often.

All things considered, 'executing' young athletes may not have been quite as good an idea as it seemed at the time.

I think there may be a 'cricket backlash' after this little exercise in terror, with a no ball declared and the opposing side getting a free hit. But, only time will tell.

Related posts: News and views: More:

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

No, worries Pray to god.

world coins

Brian H. Gill said...

Rajkumar,

I do: pray, that is. It's prudent, in situations like this.

Anonymous said...

so lets blame India?
I'm not really sure who is at fault here, our first reaction would be to point to Islamic groups but perhaps it was someone else. perhaps it was a group who hates sports(:
either way I do grieve for the families of this attack.
it would make sense if India striked Pakistan. But then again this comes right after the Guinea-Bissau attacks. interesting to note that African nations are suffering attacks right now. Sri Lanka is in Africa correct?

Anonymous said...

this attack on Sri Lanka's cricket team was senseless to say the least, nothing but destructive to all parties involved

Brian H. Gill said...

Politics and the Future,

Actually, Sri Lanka is an island nation off the southeast coast of India. More at "Sri Lanka" (CIA World Factbook) (entry updated February 24, 2009).

Another Pakistani position is that it's some sort of conspiracy: which is almost certainly true. ("Pakistan: Cricket Fans Not Pleased" (March 4, 2009))

There isn't any evidence that Guinea Bissau's troubles are directly connected to the cricket snafu in Pakistan.

One think I do think Pakistani officials are right about, is that whoever shot at the cricket team and killed the cops is trying to hurt Pakistan's relations with other countries.

I doubt India's leaders are involved. A somewhat more likely possibility is LeT - it could be the Tamil Tigers, for that matter.

Actually, aside from satisfying some pro-India chauvinists, I don't see that attacking a cricket team would help India. Even if the attack happened in Pakistan.

Cricket is enormously popular in south Asia, I understand, and disrupting international competition seems to hurt India as much as any other nation in the region.

It's not just sports fans: cricket matches seem to have direct and indirect economic effects on the involved countries - and then there's the more nebulous matter of national pride.

Brian H. Gill said...

Politics and the Future, Coffee,

Agreed. The 'cricket attack' was "senseless" - as the word is generally used - and a personal tragedy for the half-dozen or so people who were killed.

Anonymous said...

Thank you for the correction.
Again, I am deeply saddened at the tragedy that has stuck Pakistan.
after much consideration it does not make sense for India to strike Pakistan in this way.
I highly doubt the connection between the recent Guinea-Bissau issues are anyhow connected to this issue. Thanks again
Politics and the future

Brian H. Gill said...

politicsandthefuture,

My pleasure. With (about two hundred, I think) countries in the world, it's hard to keep track. Actually, thank you. You've reminded me to give more geographic references in these posts.

And, "deeply saddened" - I'll go with that view of this situation.

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