[Reader-list] Press release 12.9.12- Koodankulam Protests

[Kabir Khan]

People’s Movement Against Nuclear Energy
Idinthakarai 627 104

PRESS RELEASE
September 12, 2012

Let us Do Some Soul-search and Talk Again!

Just like a hapless wife brutally assaulted by her male chauvinistic and
drunken husband, like an innocent little child beaten up by his abusive
parent, our honest, hardworking, and pious people have been violated, their
possessions vandalized, their 400-day long nonviolent movement vilified. By
our own government! By our own Chief Minister who we brought back to power
to rescue us from corruption, power abuse, nepotism, dynastic rule and
double speak! An overwhelming majority of the Tamil voters including almost
all the coastal communities voted for the Chief Minister’s party.

When the biggest nuclear power plants in the country or the largest nuclear
power park is being set up on our seas that will have deleterious effect on
our sea and seafood, land and crops, water bodies and ground water, on our
livelihood and on our progeny, we have opposed peacefully, democratically
and nonviolently. Don’t we have at least that much freedom in our country?

In fact, the Chief Minister sympathized with our cause in the beginning.
She had objected to the Chennai visit of the nuclear-armed ship, the USS
Nimitz; and she had opposed the India-US nuclear deal with so much
conviction. Our team met with the Chief Minister twice and the Prime
Minister once at her own personal initiative. The Chief Minister kept
talking about solar power and other renewable sources of energy, kept
demanding more electricity from the central pool and more finance for
electricity projects in Tamil Nadu. She even said that she would be one
among us in our struggle.

We took to the streets, voiced our concerns to the Central Government and
asked them to stop the Koodankulam nuclear power project, change our energy
policy and to save our natural resources. The District Collector, Dr. R.
Selvaraj, entertained us in his office and served us tea and biscuits. The
Superintendent of Police, Mr. Vijayendra Bidari, gave oral ‘go-ahead’ every
time we sought permission over phone for our demonstrations, agitations and
public meetings. But they kept on filing false cases on us all with serious
charges such as sedition, waging war on the state and so forth.

The ‘love scene’ changed to ‘hate scene’ in March 2012! The script changed!
The situation, the lighting, and the overall direction changed! The Chief
Minister alleges that we are all in a ‘*maya valai*’ (mystical net). Maybe
she is referring to nuclear radiation that is indeed like a ‘*maya valai*’
you cannot see, hear, smell, taste or touch.

Today we are surrounded by police, beaten up by police, harassed by police,
accused of committing all kinds of crimes by police, arrested by police and
above all, mentally, emotionally, spiritually assaulted by police. And the
Chief Minister is the police minister!

We are all fisherfolks, shopkeepers, agricultural laborers, beedi-rolling
women, and to be brief, working class people. We do not steal public money,
we do not amass wealth through illegal business deals, and we do not
plunder the nation’s natural wealth. But we are treated like criminals;
dangerous, seditious, violent, vicious and wicked lawbreakers. Our leaders,
who have been invoking the names and wisdom of Thiruvalluvar, Buddha,
Mahavir, Ashoka, Guru Nanak, Mahatma Gandhi, Khan Abdul Gaffar Khan and
Mother Teresa, are treated like dreaded terrorists. Our people who worship
Sage Vishwamitra, Lord Jesus Christ and Prophet Mohamed are treated with
contempt and dislike. The St. Lourdes Church at Idinthakarai has been
desecrated by urinating and a holy statue destroyed. Naval boats are
patrolling our seas; air force planes are hovering over our villages; the
police are blocking our roads; we are short of food, water and other basic
essentials; and the state is waging a war on us! But we cannot do a thing!

The global nuclear mafia sees our people as their sworn enemies. The KGB,
the CIA and other international intelligence agencies consider us serious
threats to their respective ruling cliques. The Delhi Government is
infuriated with us as they are worried about their billion dollar nuclear
business deals and commissions and kickbacks. The Tamil Nadu Government
also tends to treat us like dreaded terrorists and dangerous criminals.

The police have shot down an unarmed civilian Anthony John at Manappadu
coastal village. Several people including a small baby are said to be
missing. Some 53 nonviolent protesters, men and women, are charged with
sedition and waging war on the State cases and are languishing in distant
prisons in Tamil Nadu. Thousands and thousands of families are living in
fear and despair.

We do not expect or want any awards or accolades for practicing democracy
and protesting in a nonviolent manner. But can’t we be treated with a
little bit of humanness, civility and dignity? Who should we turn to? Who
could we talk to? The Chief Minister may not even see this. Her arrogant
upper caste advisors may say everything bad about us and our lower caste
people.

We would request the Chief Minister to stop fuelling the KKNPP, remove
police from our area, provide compensation for the people who lost their
boats, vehicles and household items, and release those who are arrested.

We thank all the leaders and members of various political parties, social
movements, lawyer associations, fishermen associations, student groups,
labor unions, village committees and other organizations in Tamil Nadu and
other states for organizing various demonstrations and agitations in
support of our struggle. We would solicit their continued support for our
struggle and for the above-mentioned immediate demands as well.

The Struggle Committee
People’s Movement Against Nuclear Energy