“Let’s unite to support Sri Lanka cricket”: Sports Minister

Tuesday, 27 January 2015 01:15 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

The Minister for Sports and Tourism Navin Dissanayake, who was Chief Guest at the Dialog launch project themed ‘Cricket Loka Kusalana Lankawe Ape Jathika Pathum’ to garner support for the World Cup Cricket tournament 2015 among Sri Lankans, said: “I congratulate the management and staff of Dialog in driving this initiative for The country because many of us forget that it is the audience make a sport. Let’s unite to support Sri Lanka win the World Cup 2015 cricket tournament.” He went on to say that it was the people who united on 8 January to fight against corruption and bad governance was able to create change that many people thought will never happen and this unity must be seen during the World Cup in Sri Lanka. “Sports cuts across colour, creed and politics and I am proud top champion this for Sri Lanka on the reconciliation route of the country marred by ethnic disharmony, nepotism and corruption. Let’s now move ahead and make Sri Lanka one,” he voiced strongly.

“I would strongly urge Dialog to make this a national campaign using not only below the line activations but also use digital communications like Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest in a relevant manner as almost four million people in Sri Lanka are now connected on digital media. I want sports to be the healer in this key time period that Sri Lanka’s history is been rewritten,” said Minister Dissanayake on behalf of the Maithripala Sirisena Government. The Minister quipped that it is strange how he has to make this call on cricket as it was around 30 years back that his father Gamini Dissanayake made a similar call to Sri Lanka when the country was fighting for test status that was secured that year. “I will be watching the momentum that this campaign can pick-up, and please let me know how the Ministry can sport such initiatives of the private sector so that we make Sri Lanka a PPP driven country(Private, Public and People) than just selected organisations and families that ran Sri Lanka in the last 10 years.”