Tension mounts in Kudankulam as police crackdown continues

S P Udayakumar

20-March-2012

Vol 3 | Issue 11

Police have arrested 18 persons at Koodankulam last night but nothing happened here at Idinthakarai. Some 5,000 persons including women, men and children slept around St. Lourdes Church.

Around 185 persons, including many women and their Parish Priest Fr. Suseelan were arrested at Koottapuli village when they sat down by the side of the road protesting against the police peacefully. They are being held at Tirunelveli armed reserve camp.

Protestors including women and children slept in open spaces in Indinthakarai

The other group of 9 people including our Struggle Committee members advocate Sivasubramanian and Rajalingom, arrested yesterday and now charged with sedition (including IPC Sections 121, 121A and 153A) have also been taken to Tirunelveli. We do not know where they are being held at.

In the meantime, Muhilan, another leading activist of People’s Movement Against nuclear Energy (PMANE) was arrested on his way to Idinthakarai and he is being kept at the police headquarters in Tirunelveli.

Police have clamped down Section 144 in our area prohibiting people from congregating in any manner. So no one can walk or move around. Despite this curfew, people are continuing to arrive at Idinthakarai by boats and on foot.

There is an unprecedented deployment of police around Koodankulam and it is highly condemnable that the police are harassing the peaceful protesters to this extent.

Around 15 of us (8 men and 7 women) including Pushparayan and myself are on indefinite hunger strike here at Idinthakarai demanding:

[1] the immediate release of our comrades,

[2] the withdrawal of the Tamil Nadu cabinet resolution,

[3] a thorough and complete probe by geologists, hydrologists and oceanographers into the safety issues of the Koodankulam nuclear power plant,

[4] release of the Inter-Governmental Agreement (IGA) signed secretly by the governments of India and Russia on liability in February 2008, and

[5] conduct of safety drills and evacuation drills in the 30-km radius of the Koodankulam project.

There could be public health problems and food shortage in a few days here at Idinthakarai. We appeal to the people of Tamil Nadu to be aware of this assault on the Tamil community.

We appeal to the people of India to be mindful of impending nuclear nightmares in a highly and densely populated country such as ours.

We appeal to the people of the world to keep a watchful eye on the forceful implementation of a mega-nuclear project on our people without giving us any basic information about the project or conducting any public hearing.

They are preparing to load uranium fuel rods into the reactor without conducting any safety or evacuation drills.

This kind of Fascist development is taking our country to another round of New East India Companies and Neo-colonialism. God Save India!