AI's comment about Canada in Afghanistan

Asoka Weerasinghe Crescent . Gloucester . Ontario .Canada

April 26, 2007

The Editor (Letters)
THE OTTAWA CITIZEN

Sir:

‘Canada turns blind eye to torture in Afghanistan, Amnesty says”, you said. This headline makes me nervous as I am only hoping that AI will not mount an ill-advised campaign during our Ottawa Senators Play Off games trying to get pucks silk-screened with words “Play by the Rules”
to be signed in protest.

They did it in the Caribbean islands where the Cricket World Cup is played with a “Play by the Rules’ ball campaign at every venue where the Sri Lankan cricketers were playing. Sri Lanka will be playing the Australians in the finals on April 28^th , at Bridgetown, Barbados.

What was stupid about this campaign was that AI did not recognize that cricket in Sri Lanka is one important crucible of harmony where all ethnic groups play together enjoying the camaraderie and harmony in the villages, schools, clubs and internationally. The Sri Lankan World Cup team has Sinhalese, Tamils and Muslims playing together trying their best to bring back the Cricket World Cup home. They did it once before in 1996, and AI tried to destroy the team‘s spirit psychologically with this campaign.

With this ‘Play by the Rules’ campaign AI picked up over a million AI haters instantly in the Asian continent where cricket is played. I am making my protest known with a bumper sticker which says –

‘I’MNASTY INTERNATIONAL
Beware It’s Covert Agenda.

Asoka Weerasinghe