Shifting the debate over the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project from nuclear risk perception to the “Emergency-like” suppression of democracy and civil liberties of the local population of Idinthakarai, a panel of civil society activists on Monday urged the Centre and State government to give up their confrontationist approach and start a dialogue with the affected people.
Addressing a press conference to make public the report of a jury headed by Justice A.P. Shah, former Chief Justice of the Madras High Court, that conducted public hearings on the suppression of democratic rights in Kudankulam, the panel called for immediate revocation of 247 FIRs lodged against peaceful protesters on charges such as sedition, waging war against the State and creating enmity among Asian nations.
M.G. Devasahayam said that the foisting of such charges, cutting off supply of essentials and paralysing public transport and other services amounted to gross and heinous violation of human rights and smacked of autocracy. Democracy was a far more precious gift than generating a few megawatts of power for the sake of development and needed to be protected and preserved.
The panel, which lent support to the Chennai Solidarity Group for the Kudankulam Struggle, also wanted the government to make available the information on doubts expressed by the affected people and the safety and site evaluation report as directed by the Central Information Commission, the National Human Rights Commission and its State-level apparatus, for taking cognisance of the violations at Idinthakarai.
It wanted a mock drill conducted as a confidence building measure among the local population.
Geeta Ramaseshan, advocate, Madras High Court, said the focus of the fight at present was against the steamrollering by the State of the Constitutional right to protest and express dissent through the use of the criminal law apparatus.
Prabha Kalvimani, representing the Irular Tribes Protection Association, deplored the repressive manner in which the State had dealt with the anti-Kudankulam stir, which was an epic and totally peaceful struggle led predominantly by women that had now crossed 294 days.
V. Vasanthi Devi, educationist, said the stir against the nuclear plant was only to seek the safety of the local population but in the larger interest of future generations and the protection of the environment.
The anti-Kudankulam activists plan to submit petitions before human rights bodies at the Centre and State, launch a signature mobilisation campaign and explore legal means to have the FIRs quashed.
Keywords: Kudankulam project, Kudankulam protests
Of course, why India wants to set up more and more Nuclear Power plants when even the advanced western world and Japan have burnt their fingers from the Nuclear experience and are shutting their plants down and turning to renewable sources of energy, is a moot point.
Some of the greatest injustices the world has witnessed were all done for 'the greater good', at the expense of a (usually under previleged) minority. Now, when the government proposes to set up a Nuclear Power station in my backyard I demand the right to be consulted, not just informed. The people living in the immediate vicinity of power plant have every right to voice their concerns and they have done just that.
The government should have adopted an open-minded approach and been completely honest with its intentions and engaged in a dialogue with the people. Instead, it chose not to reveal (via RTI) the findings of safety surveys on the grounds of 'strategic' reasons, slapped cases of 'waging war against the nation' against the village folk and threw them in jail, using all the might of the state machinery.
The false notion of KKNP being the panacea for the power-deficit situation of TN was actively created and spread by the Govt..
I agree with prasanth Valsan, the protectors where stopping the duty of public servant, they decided how many persons to work and who should go to the plant, etc. Now how the so called civil society activists justify this ?
Interestingly the protest began in September last year as a consequence of a safety drill! Dialogue with the protesters did not succeed because of their intransigent attitude. The invite the NPCIL officials for answering their queries but on their arrival, demand that they want the plant to be shut down. The activists took over Kudankulam and nearby areas and even fixed the number of employees who can enter the plant site. It is a case of waging war against India and it cannot be justified just because the people are poor.
Please Email the Editor