SRI LANKA: Life of Human Rights Defender in Danger

Salem-News.com Eye on the World Report.

Herman Kumara

(SAYDABAD, Bangladesh) - The head of the National Fisheries Solidarity Movement of Sri Lanka, Herman Kumara, founding members of the Platform for Freedom in Sri Lanka, collaborated with more than 160 civil society organizations and trade unions across the country to create an organization responding to the needs of the people. The Platform for Freedom gave voice to those who wanted to express disagreement against oppressive government policies.

Mr. Kumara arrived in Sri Lanka several days ago following an international conference in Rome, Italy. Shortly after his arrival, he noticed that he was being followed by a group of people in a van with the registration 301-2865; this of course is potentially synonymous with the notorious 'White Van' disappearances which Sri Lanka has become internationally noted for. The suspicious behavior of the group led him to believe that he was in danger of being abducted. Herman Kumara is currently in hiding.

Our goal with Eye on the World is to illustrate and highlight politically oriented problems and tragedies that traditional media channels don't have time or interest in covering.

The world has its own set of laws that were agreed upon by the ruling nations in 1948, and many people are not aware of this simple fact. At the root of the concept of world citizenry itself, is the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights, an overriding and supreme law that ensures many essential human rights that governments today fail to observe. Also central to any hope of human success, is the understanding of the human hierarchy of needs, as defined by Abraham Maslow- more information on this at the conclusion of this entry. We must use the Internet as a tool of justice at every junction, and we need to assist all human beings, everywhere, and not allow cultural, racial or religious preferences as determiners.

In this appeal, William Gomes contacts Mr. N K Illangakoon, the Inspector General of Police, New Secretariat, in Colombo, and he cited that he also contacted the Special Rapporteure on Situation of Human Rights Defenders and Special Rapporteur on Extra-judicial, Summary, or Arbitrary Executions on this regard: asking for urgent intervention to ensure that authorities get to the bottom of allegations of the imminent threat to life and abduction of Herman Kumara, by determining who the people are behind the threats against this noted activist, and prosecuting them under the criminal law of the country.

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February 29, 2012 Mr. N K Illangakoon Inspector General of Police New Secretariat Colombo 1 SRI LANKA Fax: +94 11 2 440440 / 327877 E-mail: igp@police.lk Re: SRI LANKA: Life of human rights defender in danger Dear Inspector General of Police, Name of the victim: Mr. Wijetunga Appuhamilage Herman Kumara the Secretary General of the World Forum of Fisher People (WFFP) and the head of the National Fisheries Solidarity Movement (NFSM) of Sri Lanka Alleged perpetrator: Unknown group of people Date of incident: 29 February 2012 Place of incident: Chilaw, Sri Lanka I am writing to express my serious concern over the case of Mr. Wijetunga Appuhamilage Herman Kumara of Sandalankawa, Irabadagama In Kurunegalle District. He is the Secretary General of the World Forum of Fisher People (WFFP) and head of the National Fisheries Solidarity Movement (NFSM) of Sri Lanka, a widely known human rights organization, is facing a potential threat to his life as he fears an imminent abduction. Mr. Kumara has helped organize protests by local fisherman who demonstrated in response to the government's fuel increases, and received death threats for this work. The NFSM has filed an official request to the Sri Lankan authorities to assure Mr. Kumara's safety but they have not responded to his request; the officers of the Pannala Police Station have yet to take any steps to investigate the complaint. The complaint made on this regard to the Pannala Police Station and it was recorded with reference as, CIB(1)/241/490, by the wife of the Herman Kumara, Ms. Shrini Kumuduni Pradeepika Adihettie. Herman Kumara was one of the founding members of the Platform for Freedom in Sri Lanka. He collaborated with more than 160 civil society organizations and trade unions across the country to create an organization which would respond to the needs of the people. The Platform for Freedom gave voice to those who wanted to express disagreement against oppressive government policies. Mr. Kumara is also on the Board of Directors for the Women for Development Alternatives of Sri Lanka (SASTHRI) and participates in the development of a number of other civil society organizations in Sri Lanka. He is a well-respected human rights defender, activist and civil society moderator who has been operating in these spheres of Sri Lankan society for over 30 years. During this time, he has made a number of significant contributions to international human rights campaigns and the overall wellbeing of Sri Lanka. Mr. Kumara arrived in Sri Lanka several days ago following an international conference in Rome, Italy. Shortly after his arrival, he noticed that he was being followed by a group of people in a van with the registration 301-2865. The suspicious behavior of the group of people led him to believe that he was in danger of being abducted. He is currently in hiding. He suspects that they were looking to abduct him as he said “if I had actually done anything wrong, I would have been arrested at the airport.” He added that if he had committed a legal offence, he was ready and willing to face legal action. Shortly after he entered into hiding, members of the group in the van visited his hometown and asked where Mr. Kumara and his family resided. In February 2012, the Sri Lankan government increased fuel prices; a decision which caused public protest. Soon after, electricity prices were increased by 40% and public transportation fees by 20%. This led to violent protests across Sri Lanka. In one protest, a fisherman was killed by police officers in a town on the west coast. There were protests and road blockades in the western fishing town of Chilaw where large boats depend on the fuel whose price has dramatically increased. Shortly after the protests, two senior government ministers, Rajitha Senarathna, Cabinet Minister of Fisheries & Aquatic Resources Development, and Wimal Weerawansa, Cabinet Minister of Construction, Engineering Services, Housing and Common Amenities, critiqued Mr. Kumara and the work of the organizations he is involved with in Parliament and on state-sponsored media outlets. They accused civil society organizations (presumably the NFFSM) for mobilizing the general public in protest. Mr. Herman has emphasized that he will continue his work as a human rights defender and civil society activist. He calls on the government of Sri Lanka to uphold his rights enshrined in the Constitution and immediately ensure his protection. Please note that I have also written a separate letter to the Special Rapporteur on Special Rapporteure on Situation of Human Rights Defenders and Special Rapporteur on Extra-judicial, Summary, or Arbitrary Executions on this regard. I request your urgent intervention to ensure that the authorities listed below instigate an immediate investigation into the allegations of imminent threat to life and abduction by the group of unknown people, and the prosecution of those proven to be responsible under the criminal law of the country. Yours sincerely, William Nicholas Gomes William’s Desk www.williamgomes.org Download: SRI LANKA- Life of human rights defender in danger

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Maslow's hierarchy of needs

As children we are educated in right and wrong, we are told how to conduct ourselves; we learn both expectations and limitations, and from that point we go forth with these tools, and our individual personalities, and fail or succeed accordingly.

In school we quickly understand that without paper, there is no place to write. Once we have paper, a pen or pencil is required to move to the next point. There is a great analogy that exists between this simple concept of paper and pen, and what we know today as Maslow's hierarchy of needs- the theory in psychology proposed in Abraham Maslow's 1943 paper A Theory of Human Motivation.

He demonstrated how without the correct necessities, a person can do little good for themselves, and has none to offer for others. However when people are housed and have clothing, heat, food, health and security, anything is possible. However if just one of these dynamics is removed from the mix, the chance for success can be adversely affected.

Wikipedia describes Maslow's hierarchy of needs as a pyramid consisting of five levels:

The lowest level is associated with physiological needs, while the uppermost level is associated with self-actualization needs, particularly those related to identity and purpose.

The higher needs in this hierarchy only come into focus when the lower needs in the pyramid are met. Once an individual has moved upwards to the next level, needs in the lower level will no longer be prioritized. If a lower set of needs is no longer be met, the individual will temporarily re-prioritize those needs by focusing attention on the unfulfilled needs, but will not permanently regress to the lower level.

For instance, a businessman at the esteem level who is diagnosed with cancer will spend a great deal of time concentrating on his health (physiological needs), but will continue to value his work performance (esteem needs) and will likely return to work during periods of remission.

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Special thanks to William's Desk

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