Reclaiming Pakistan’s Sporting Oasis
Varsha Maharaj explores the unwelcome intersection of terrorism and sport.
In March this year, several gunmen opened fire on a bus carrying the visiting Sri Lankan cricketers in Lahore, Pakistan. This act of terrorism killed seven Pakistani security guards and a driver, and wounded eight cricket players, an assistant coach, and a local umpire.
Until this attack, it could have been said that cricket, or any other sport for that matter, was immune from the effects of global terrorism. However, this would deny the long history of terrorist attacks targeting sportsmen and women, including the infamous Munich massacre of 1972. It is appalling to see that this realm of recreation and enjoyment, which allows states to maintain elements of positive relations despite conflicting in other respects, has once again come under the dark cloud of terrorism.
The Munich massacre marked the first time that terrorism hit an international sporting event. At the 1972 Olympic Games in Germany, eight ‘Black September’ extremists broke into the Israeli athletes’ room, killing wrestling coach Moshe Weinberg and weightlifter Yossef Romano before shooting nine more. Though horrifying, the Games carried on. For those who are not too naïve to take security for granted, the recent attack was not a surprise, as shocking as it may have been.
These are not the only terrorist atrocities in sporting history. At the Colombo Marathon last year, a suicide bomber killed 14 people, including the Olympic athlete K. A. Karunaratne seconds before the start of the race. In 1996, a 40-pound pipe-bomb was detonated at Centennial Park during the Atlanta Olympic Games, killing two and injuring 111 others. During the Cricket World Cup in Colombo in the same year, a suicide bomber killed 91 people and injured over 1,400, resulting in Australia and the West Indies refusing to play in Sri Lanka. Pakistan was one of the two teams that went on to play in Sri Lanka when the rest pulled out. Its participation is cited as the reason why Sri Lanka accepted the invitation to tour Pakistan this year. We ought to applaud Sri Lanka’s diplomatic effort to go on tour despite Pakistan having been tagged a no-go zone.
“Cricket brings together nations in the midst of political and social upheaval … there is obvious potential for extremists to wreak havoc in the realm of sport.”
Before these attacks, cricket was perceived to be immune from terrorism because of the esteem in which the game is held on the Indian sub-continent. However, this was a wildly optimistic judgment when one recognises that the sport brings together nations in the midst of political and social upheaval. Against this background, there is obvious potential for extremists to wreak havoc in the realm of sport. Cricket has been the sole link between Pakistan and its rival across the border, India. It has been their one point of identification, even when their armies were amassed at the borders. This attack may have taken that away.
The March attack is the latest entry in an already lengthy log of extremist ferocity. Moreover, the security situation is worsening in Pakistan. In December 2007, then Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto was murdered following an unsuccessful assassination attempt two months earlier. The destruction of Mumbai’s Marriott Hotel and the assassination attempt on Prime Minister Yousaf Gilani, to say nothing of the kidnappings and murders of foreign bureaucrats, round out the list of terrorist attacks. Geopolitically, had it been the Indian cricket team on the bus that day with Tendulkar and Dhoni, it would be terrifying to even imagine the Indians’ retaliation and the chain reaction that may have been triggered.
The March attack has not only put cricket in jeopardy, but it has also marred the ties between countries. For many, cricket is not just a sport, but a passion and a religion as well. England resumed its Test matches in India in the wake of the Mumbai carnage, proving itself keen for the restoration of peace. Its first tour to Pakistan, following a five-year absence, is scheduled for 2010. It is intended to reforge the ties that were damaged during Pakistan’s visit to England in 2006; however, this is now in serious doubt.
If governments and sporting councils circumscribe tours to countries that are not tagged as terror threats, then the terrorists gain a victory. Terrorism is a global issue that needs a global solution, with national governments supporting each other. It will be interesting to see what becomes of Pakistan, which is due to be one of the four co-hosts of the 2011 Cricket World Cup with Bangladesh, India and Sri Lanka, and where one of the semi-finals will be played.
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