Australians protest against cricket tour as campaign grows

03 January 2013

More than 50 Australians gathered outside the Sydney Cricket Ground to protest against Australia hosting the Sri Lankan cricket team in their tour of the country, as more supporters signed on to the boycott Sri Lanka cricket campaign.

Campaigners handed out leaflets and displayed banners at the entrance to the Sydney Cricket Ground, as they continued their boycott campaign.

Present at the protest was David Shoebridge, Greens Member of Parliament for New South Wales. He had earlier stated in a press releaseby the Tamil Youth Organisation Australia,

“Sport can be a wonderful way of uniting people across the planet but it is also abused by illegitimate regimes as a form of soft diplomacy... The current Sri Lankan regime tortures dissidents, disappears journalists and abuses the human rights of the Tamil minority."

“No Australian sporting team should be providing them with legitimacy by playing them at an international level."

“We saw with the boycott of the South African apartheid sporting teams how a united opposition to those who abuse human rights can create the environment for change, and we should be doing the same in relation to Sri Lanka."

“When we see our government working hand-in-hand with a brutal and repressive administration, such as Rajapaksa’s, then it is even more important that the rest of civil society takes a stand.”

With the protest attracting a large media crowd, Nick Riemer of the  Refugee Action Coalition told TEN Sport, 

"As with the South African apartheid regime, Sri Lanka deserves a boycott of cricket tours and other sporting teams,"
"Sri Lanka President (Mahinda) Rajapakse uses the country's cricket team to promote his dictatorial regime, being constantly photographed with the players and naming Colombo's new cricket stadium after himself," said Riemer of the Refugee Action Coalition.

Sri Lanka are currently on tour in Australia, where they are losing 2-0 in a three-test match series. A series of one-day and Twenty-20 matches are also scheduled to be played.