Kumar Rupesinghe

Kumar Rupesinghe (1943 – 20 February 2022) was a Sri Lankan academic and activist involved in social issues, particularly human rights, development issues, processes of globalisation, conflict prevention/resolution, and conflict transformation in the light of peacekeeping and peacebuilding for a harmonious coexistence among all peoples in the world.

Rupesinghe died on 22 February 2022, at the age of 79.

Since his return to Sri Lanka after the signing of the ceasefire agreement between the government and the LTTE in 2002, he initiated the National Anti-War Front (NAWF) with a presence throughout Sri Lanka. It has been engaged in public demonstrations, sit-ins, and vigils to call for peace and a negotiated solution to the country's civil war.

Rupesinghe edited or wrote over 40 books and published over 200 articles in academic journals. Some of his writings include Civil War Civil Peace, Conflict Transformation, and Early Warning, Early Response. He recently released his collected works under the titles Waging Peace 2002-2008, Preventive Diplomacy, Early Warning, Conflict Resolution and Transformation Vols. I and II, Development and Conflict in Sri Lanka, Expressions of an Unequivocal Mind, and The Voice Vols. I and II.

From 1992 to 1998 Rupesinghe was secretary general of International Alert (IA), an international non-governmental organisation (NGO) dedicated to the prevention and mitigation of internal conflict. The organisation continued the work of the human rights advocate and first secretary general of Amnesty International, Martin Ennals, who received the Nobel Prize. During his tenure, Rupesinghe was in the august company of IA Board members like Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Nobel Laureates and other distinguished citizens of the global human rights community.

Rupesinghe was invited to join the International Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO) in Norway, as a research fellow in 1982. At this time ethnic polarisation in Sri Lanka had increased and after 1977, relations between the Tamils and the government had deteriorated. Against this backdrop, he dedicated himself to finding solutions to the ethnic conflict, leading to his advocacy for an early warning system. He was later appointed research director and led PRIO's programme on ethnic conflict and conflict resolution.

After the 1977 defeat of the SLFP-led United Front government, Rupesinghe served as a lecturer at the Department of Sociology of the University of Peradeniya (1977-1981). He was also a member of the Social Scientists Association, a Sri Lankan research body.

During 1973–1977, under the patronage of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party, Rupesinghe formed two major weekly newspapers, Janavegaya and Janavegam (both meaning 'people's power'), which embodied a social movement for change. The Janavegaya social movement had wide popularity and a presence throughout the island. One of his unique achievements was to visit the 20,000 political prisoners held as a result of the abortive 1971 JVP Insurrection. Eventually, through the efforts of Janavegaya, the prime minister was persuaded to release all prisoners held in connection to the insurrection except for the key figures of the insurgency.

In the meantime, he continued his academic growth by obtaining a degree at London School of Economics and a doctorate from City University London. Over time, he became a research fellow at the Agrarian Research and Training Institute in Colombo (1971–1973) and was appointed director of the National Youth Service Council.

One of Rupesinghe's core concerns was the brutality he witnessed during the ethnic riots of 1958 in Sri Lanka, where a close Tamil friend and his family were killed.

Rupesinghe was born in the British Raj in 1943. He obtained his first degree from the London School of Economics and his Ph.D. from the City University London. He contributed towards building new organizations and networks on human rights and peace.