Don’t talk humanitarianism, show it, practice it…

We must practice humanitarianism not just talk it by immediately releasing the five Hindraf leaders who are being detained illegally without just cause and reason. Yesterday A.Sivanesan and I visited the five - M. Manoharan, P. Uthayakumar, V.Ganabatirau, R. Kenghadharan and K. Vasanthakumar – at the Kamunting center on Thursday and their physical and mental health is deteriorating to an alarmingly level.

We criticize SUHAKAM, a humanitarian agency, for issuing a statement all is well without visiting the five detainees, in particular Uthayakumar who suffers from diabetics.

Vasanthakumar has lung infection and is not getting adequate health care because the system in Kamunting is outdated, slow and health services are backward.
We condemn SUHAKAM for not visiting the detainees and getting their side of the story. They should practice humanitarianism. The conditions of the detainees must be improved. They must be either charged in court or immediately released.

There is absolutely no reason or justification to hold them any longer as the people have voted and send a clear message to the government that they want the five released without delay. The government must respect the verdict of the people.
In addition one of the detainees is an elected representative.

Manoharan is a state assemblyman Kota Alam Shah and it his duty to serve his constituency. How can he serve when he is incarcerated in a detention camp? For this reason alone he should be released immediately.
The manner in which SUHAKAM conducted its purported inquiry is deplorable and has brought shame to the organization.

Their conclusions are very wrong, and deprive Uthayakumar and his family’s fundamental right to be heard and participate in any inquiry.
The five are victims of a draconian law that allows for detention without trial - where there is no right to defend oneself; no right to a fair and open trial; and no right to even go for judicial review of the alleged reasons for detaining him.

As such, the manner in which Datuk Siva Subramanian and SUHAKAM conducted themselves in this case makes it completely unacceptable.

Kula