[Reader-list] Statement Against Police firing on Protestors inJaitapur, Maharashtra

Wed Apr 20 16:12:10 IST 2011

Dear Prakash,

If only life were as simple as taking a stand and not worrying about the
alienation and distress caused, years of taking a STAND especially in
matters of land rights have not prevented the government or the energy
moghuls from usurping lands enmass, what had happened to the hundreds
displaced by the enron do we even talk about it now.

As long as the issue of energy freedom is not addressed, there will be
people claiming and wanting to evict you out of your lands. If you say "I
will not let them steal my Land", they will bribe threaten and force you out
or maybe even call you a naxal. The answer lies in research and advocating
research.

Regards,

Shashi

From: Prakash K Ray [mailto:pkray11 at gmail.com] 
Sent: Wednesday, April 20, 2011 3:16 PM
To: Shashidhar
Cc: reader-list at sarai.net
Subject: Re: [Reader-list] Statement Against Police firing on Protestors
inJaitapur, Maharashtra

Shashi ji, those need energy should donate their land to the governments. I
will not let them steal my land. Massive debates have been done over the
issue. Now the time is to take a stand. You choose yours. I have chosen
mine.

prakash

JOIN US 

FOR 

A 

PROTEST DEMONSTRATION 

AGAINST 

THE POLICE FIRING IN JAITAPUR, MAHARASHTRA 

AT 

JANTAR MANTAR 

11.30 AM 

21ST APRIL, 2011, THURSDAY 

ANTI-NUCLEAR STRUGGLES' SOLIDARITY FORUM 

On Wed, Apr 20, 2011 at 12:21 PM, Shashidhar
<shashidhar at butterfliesindia.org> wrote:

Putting my views on paper, please also do take up the issue of how can one
produce electricity in our nation if people are opposed to Hyro, thermal,
nuclear, wind, solar, fuel cell.

Will it be ok for people to live without electricity, how will one run
hospitals, transport, communication, water pumps and many more things.
Agreed nuclear is dangerous, but please do engage with people and ask them
how we can produce more electricity. Do also tell them of the lesser than
10% efficiency of solar, wind power generators and the huge tracts of land
which need to be covered to produce a single watt, there have been many
efforts from the government especially in Maharashtra, offering concessions
for people installing solar heaters in farms and home, none have used these
especially because they are inefficient.

Clean energy is an area where our government does not invest anything at
all, if they were to invest the 1000's of crores they are spending on the
jaitapurplant in research and decentralised micro electricity projects which
are the complete responsibility of the community things would be very much
different. Captive production is still not allowed and many industries are
forced to draw power from the State electricity boards.

Regards,

Shashi

-----Original Message-----
From: reader-list-bounces at sarai.net [mailto:reader-list-bounces at sarai.net]
On Behalf Of Prakash K Ray
Sent: Wednesday, April 20, 2011 11:01 AM
To: reader-list at sarai.net
Subject: [Reader-list] Statement Against Police firing on Protestors
inJaitapur, Maharashtra

*Several citizens groups and people's organizations will be demonstrating
against the police firing and the myopic promotion of nuclear energy on 21st
April at 11.30 AM at Jantar Mantar. *

*Statement Against Police firing on Protestors in Jaitapur, Maharashtra*

*New Delhi, Dt. 19th April, 2011*

***-*

We, the undersigned individuals and organizations condemn the Maharashtra
Police firing on protestors who were demonstrating against the proposed
Nuclear Power Park at Jaitapur, Ratnagiri, Maharashtra.

-

The corrupting influence of the nuclear companies over the political parties
has been revealed in the Indo-US nuclear deal. These are the same political
players who had played dubious roles during struggle against Enron power
plant.

This incident happened at the protest which was organized against the Union
Environment Minister's statement saying, come what may the Nuclear Park will
be built in Jaitapur and Prime Minister's consistent advocacy for nuclear
energy unmindful of the tragic incident in Japan.

-

In the police firing on 18th April, 2011, one person died and 8 others were
seriously injured. This firing should not be seen in isolation. For the past
one year, the government of Maharashtra has unleashed a reign of terror in
the entire Jaitapur area against farmers, fishing folks and other rural
artisans who have launched a non-violent and protracted democratic struggle
against snatching away of their land, livelihood and the imminent
catastrophe from the proposed Nuclear Power Park.

-

We oppose any forcible acquisition of land against the wishes of the local
farmers.

The high-handedness of Maharashtra State Government has been evident for the
last four years. A local Konkani activist Vaishali Patil and even other
prominent Konkan and Maharashtra residents like Retd. Admiral L. Ramdas and
Retd. Supreme Court Justice P B Sawant were arbitrarily declared out of
bounds from Ratnagiri District.

-

This is a flagrant violation of democratic rights. This is clear example of
stamping out the right to protest which is one of the sacrosanct
constitutional rights in the country. It should be noted that Mr. Narayan
Rane, the State Revenue Minister who also hails from the Konkan region has
been going around Jaitapur area and threatening everyone who protests
against the proposed Nuclear Power Park. Mr. Rane has also openly given a
call to local Indian National Congress cadres to forcibly drive out the
activists who are protesting against the Nuclear Power Park.

-

We are seriously concerned about Shiv Sena's role in provoking the tragic
incident. Motivated hooliganism and strong arm tactics of Shiv Sena is a
well known phenomena which often dissipates the possibility of peaceful
democratic protests. This provides the logic to the administration for
Police repression and vilifying peaceful mass protests. Shiv Sena's
opportunism in the Anti- Enron Struggle in the 1990s is well known.

-

We disapprove of such rank opportunism of these political outfits which
attempts to divert the studied pace and direction of the ongoing struggle
against the Nuclear Power Park in the Ratnagiri district against the
proposed Nuclear Power Park for the past 4 years, but Congress Party's
partisan role and Shiv Sena's unwarranted entry into the struggle has
vitiated the atmosphereThe people of Jaitapur are carrying out .

-

In the aftermath of the nuclear accidents in Three Mile Island, Chernobyl
and Fukushima, a stark rationale for the abandonment of nuclear energy has
emerged. In a situation where admittedly public health infrastructure is
non-existent to deal with the inevitable event of nuclear emergency,
promotion of nuclear commerce cannot be approved.

We disapprove of nuclear energy in such a context where countries after
countries are abandoning or doing a rethink about this option.

* *

*-*

*Therefore, we demand*

  - *Scrapping of the proposed nuclear plant in the Ratnagiri district and
  other states in the country*
  - *Judicial Enquiry into the incident of police firing on 18th April  *
  - *Strong action against the district officials and the Police officers
  who ordered the police firing on the protesters*
  - *Immediately withdraw the false cases against the activists, the
  villagers and rescind the externment orders *

*Several citizens groups and people's organizations will be demonstrating
against the police firing and the myopic promotion of nuclear energy on 21st
April at 11.30 AM at Jantar Mantar. *

* -*

*Endorsed by *

Chittaranjan Singh, INSAF/ PUCL

Anil Chaudhary

Gopal Krishna, ToxicsWatch Alliance

Kiran Shaheen, Media Action Group

Susan Abraham, FORRAD

Prakash K. Ray, www.bargad.org

P T George, Intercultural Resources

Benny Kuruvilla, Focus on the Global South

Preeti Sampat

Prem Piram, JAGAR

Amit Mahanti, Frame Works Research & Media Collective

Asit, Delhi Platform

Shree Prakash, MISAAL

Sandeep Singh, AISA

Wilfred D' Costa

Soumya Dutta, Bharat Jan Vigyan Jatha

Priya Pillai, Greenpeace

Sundaram P.

Prafull Bidwai, CNDP

Kavita Krishnan, Central Committee Member, CPI (ML) Liberation

Mona Das

S. Lahiri, NFFPFW

National Alliance of Peoples' Movements (NAPM)

Popular Education and Action Centre (PEACE)

Indian Social Action Forum (INSAF)

Coalition on Nuclear Disarmament and Peace (CNDP)

Delhi Forum

Programme for Social Action (PSA)

Aruna Roy

Nikhil Dey

Rajendra Ravi, IDS

*
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*Contact detail:*

*A-124/6, Katwaria Sarai, New Delhi-110016*

*Ph: 011-65663958, 26517814,*

*9212587159 (Seela), 9818111562 (Ramesh)*
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