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Extreme heat, police repression, nothing stops The People’s Movement Against Nuclear Energy (PMANE)

Anti-nuclear protesters lay seige to Kudankulam plant http://www.khaleejtimes.com/displayarticle.asp?xfile=data/international/2012/October/international_October252.xml&section=international&col= 9 October 2012 The People’s Movement Against Nuclear Energy (PMANE) on Monday strengthened their 420-day agitation against Kudankulam atomic power plant in Tamil Nadu by laying siege of the plant.
Hundreds of fishermen and farmers from over 80 villages in Tirunelveli, Kanyakumari and Thoothukudi districts surrounded the sea 500 metres off the plant by placing their fibre boats and floating buoys. The protests passed off peacefully.

Defying the scorching heat, the protesters remained in the sea till evening demanding closure of the plant, 100kms from the Kerala capital of Trivandrum. The villagers also demanded withdrawal of police from the villages, release of those arrested and cancellation of false cases registered against them.

The anti-nuclear energy protesters said they would launch their next
agitation in the state capital of Chennai by laying siege of the
Legislative Assembly on October 29. Activists of various political
parties have also agreed to join the agitation by organising protests
across the state.

The organisers had taken special care to ensure that the protest was
held peacefully in the light of the clashes with the police during the
earlier protests. They had drawn boundaries and directed the
protestors not to cross them. The protestors were also asked not to
attack security officials and indulge in vandalism.Over 5,000 security
personnel, including members of the Rapid Action Force and Coast
Guard, were deployed to prevent the protestors from approaching the
plant. All the roads leading to the plants were cordoned off by the
police. Five Coast Guard vessels were positioned in the sea to prevent
any untoward incident.

PMANE coordinator S P Udayakumar, who had gone underground following
an arrest warrant, led the protests. Before boarding one of the boats,
he told reporters that theirs was a democratic struggle which will
continue till their demands were met.

When asked what he would do if he was arrested, Udayakumar said a
legal team was in place to deal with the matter. He pointed out that
he was neither an anti-national nor a looter of money.

“I am only asking the authorities to give consideration to the safety
concerns of thousands of people against the dangerous nuclear energy.
When most countries are abandoning nuclear plants why can’t we? he
asked. This is the second time the anti-nuclear activists are staging
their protest in the sea. Earlier on September 22, they laid siege of
Tuticorin port against loading of uranium in the atomic power plant.
Later, they had also staged a ‘Jal Satyagraha’ in the sea at
Koothakuzhi, 10km from Kudankulam, by forming a human chain.

The first unit of the Indo-Russian project was scheduled to be
commissioned in December last year but had been delayed due to
protests by locals on safety concerns.

The Supreme Court had recently cleared the operationalisation of the
plant under the condition that the authorities will ensure safety
mechanisms are in place. The government had informed the court that
the plant was safe and is “fully equipped to withstand” Fukushima-type
incidents.

October 9, 2012 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | India, opposition to nuclear