ONGOING PEOPLE’S STRUGGLE IN KOODANKULAM Nuclear Power Plant
STATEMENT ON ONGOING PEOPLE’S STRUGGLE IN KOODANKULAM IN TAMILNADU AGAINST PROPOSEDNUCLEAR PLANT IN ORDER TO SAVE THEIR LIVELIHOOD, LIVES AND ENVIRONMENT.
We, members of Human Rights, Pro-Democratic activists and movements, have formed a group at Delhi under the name of “FRIENDS OF KOODANKULAM ANTI-NUCLEAR MOVEMENT” in order to support the anti-nuclear movement of Koodankulam people in Tamilnadu to save their lives, their livelihood and priceless environment.
- The people of 32 villages surrounding Koodankulam under the name of People’s Movement Against Nuclear Energy (PMANE) are protesting the Koodankulam Nuclear Power Project (KKNPP) and started their agitation on August 16, 2011 and have been sitting on relay fasting since September 11, 2011.
- This struggle is a collective of the communities of the districts of Thirunelveli, Kanyakumari and Tuticorin; this is supported by the people of Tamilnadu. The various peoples’ movements of Tamilnadu have been showing their solidarity by different agitations and demonstrations. Continue reading
Anti nuclear activists break into two French nuclear power plants
Greenpeace said the incidents proved the sites aren’t safe. “With this nonviolent action, Greenpeace shows that French nuclear installations are vulnerable,” Greenpeace France activist Sophia Majnoni d’Intignano said. “It’s the patent proof that existing security systems aren’t sufficient.”…..
The opposition Green party, which wants France to completely exit nuclear power, said the incident proved again that nuclear energy was inherently unsafe.
Activists Enter French Nuclear Facilities WSJ, By GÉRALDINE AMIEL And INTI LANDAURO, 5 Dec 11 PARIS—French police on Monday arrested eleven activists with environmental group Greenpeace who broke into two French nuclear-power plants in an attempt to raise questions about reactor security.
Nine people broke into the compound of the Nogent-sur-Seine nuclear plant, south of Paris, at about 6 a.m. on Monday. Two of the protesters climbed onto the roof of one the two reactors before they were apprehended by police, said the plant’s owner, state-controlled power behemoth Électricité de France SA. All nine were arrested.
Late Monday, the police arrested two men who had hidden all day at EDF’s Cruas plant, in southern France, EDF said. Continue reading
In Jordan, push against vested nuclear interests, call for renewable energy
Activists claim that the studies, currently being conducted by Worley Parsons and Tractebel Engineering in cooperation with the Jordan Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the JAEC, will lack credibility due to the firms’ “vested interests” in sustaining the nuclear programme.
Participants also called for the dissolution of the JAEC and the Jordan-French Uranium Company, urging the government to replace the entities with a Renewable Energy Commission to boost the Kingdom’s efforts to pursue solar and wind energy, which industry experts and officials alike admit have suffered several setbacks in the last two years.
Activists call for open Nuclear Debate in Jordan, The Jordan Times December 4th, 2011 Activists and environmentalists on Saturday called for an open debate on the country’s atomic energy programme, voicing concern over the feasibility of Amman’s nuclear drive. Continue reading
Governor calls for scrapping of all of Fukushima’s 10 nuclear reactors
Scrap all 10 Fukushima nuclear reactors: Governor, Straits Times, Nov 30, 2011,TOKYO (AFP) – The governor of Japan’s Fukushima prefecture called on Wednesday for all 10 of the area’s reactors to be scrapped as it attempts to recover from an ongoing nuclear crisis.
Yuhei Sato said he would include the demand in the prefecture’s reconstruction plan to be compiled by the end of this year following the March 11 earthquake and tsunami that sparked the nuclear disaster.
The Fukushima prefectural assembly has already adopted a petition to seek the decommissioning of the 10 reactors housed at Fukushima’s Daiichi and Daini plants, both run by Tokyo Electric Power (Tepco).
‘I decided to stipulate the reactor decommissioning in the reconstruction plan so that young people can live here without worries,’ Mr Sato told a news conference. http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/Asia/Story/STIStory_739689.html
India’s government just doesn’t ‘get it’ on popular opposition to nuclear power
Koodankulam struggle: Western nations are learning from their mistakes, India is not, The Weekend Leader, By Nityanand Jayaraman & Sundar Rajan, Chennai, 30 Nov 2011, Since August 2011, Tamil Nadu has witnessed renewed protests against the commissioning of the first of two 1,000 MW power plants as part of the Koodankulam Nuclear Power Project (KKNPP).
While protests have been ongoing against the project since the proposal was mooted in 1988, the impending commissioning of the reactors in light of the devastating and uncontrollable nuclear meltdown in Fukushima, Japan, has rightly triggered a wave of concern among thinking people in India.
The protest against nuclear power plants is not isolated to Koodankulam. Even as we speak, fisherfolk and farmers in Jaitapur, Maharashtra, and farmers and residents of Gorakhpur, Haryana, are saying a loud “No” to nuclear power plants in their area. Haripur, West Bengal, which was to be a site for Russian reactors, will no longer be on the nuclear map, as the state government bowed to local sentiment and declared West Bengal a nuclear-free state.
Wise people do learn from others’ mistakes. Germany, Switzerland, Italy, Belgium and Japan have all announced that they will move away from the nuclear option, and explore clean and sustainable forms of electricity generation.
But India’s chest-thumping “nucleocracy” wants to play the death game, with peasants and fisherfolk as pawns in the gamble.The staunch and united protests by farmers, traders and fisherfolk in Tirunelveli, Kanyakumari and Thoothukudi have scared the nuclear establishment.
Faced with the real prospect of having to abandon the project, the Congress-led UPA government is doing what it does best — divide and rule; communalise the issue and allege that foreign hands are at play….. http://www.theweekendleader.com/Causes/833/Nuking-myths.html
Police violence does not deter huge anti nuclear protests in France and Germany
After 126 hours en route the 13th CASTOR delivery arrived for storage in Gorleben. The longest and most expensive delivery trip ever was caused by blockades of anti-nuclear activists, starting in France, continuing throughout Germany and culminating in the Gorleben area itself.
After a trip of nearly five and a half days from Normandy in France the 13th delivery of processed German nuclear waste reached the “temporary” storage hall in Gorleben, a village in northwest Germany at about 10 pm on Monday +++ Police perpetrated massive violence and breaches of the law against demonstrators, injuring at least 355 with truncheons, gas, dogs, horses and water cannons +++ The 25,000 activists in the county were the second largest number ever +++ Resistance against the shipment began in France where activists reported police violence against them but also an upsurge of anti-nuclear sentiment in the country +++ In the Gorleben area resistance took the form of rail and road squats, chain-ons (one caused a 14-hour delay in the train journey) and massive road traffic disruptions, notably by farmers with tractors and agricultural machinery +++(See German Source here)
The activists’ first aid team of doctors and other health professionals report treating at least 355 injured by police, including serious head wounds and a suspected vertebral fracture from truncheoning. About a third of the injuries were caused by gas, the others mainly by truncheons. One person was run down by a horse, another had a tooth bashed out. Some police who’d been affected by their own mace or who were totally exhausted (10 cases) were also treated. In some cases the first aiders were denied access, especially during the trucking phase. Nine were ordered away from places. A doctor was not allowed to examine an arrested injured person. In another case first aiders were kettled while washing out people’s eyes. There were several cases of police violence against first aiders, e.g. one was injured by gas, another by several blows with a truncheon. A first aid camp in Laase was overrun linkby police, who threatened and insulted first aiders. The group is shocked by the high number of injured which will probably rise because not all the numbers are in yet. http://linksunten.indymedia.org/en/node/50895
Indian nuclear officials met with jeers and boos
Villagers boo officials at talks on Jaitapur safety, Business Standard, BS Reporter / Mumbai November 30, 2011, Supported by the Opposition Shiv Sena, residents of a few villages of southwestern Maharashtra today stepped up their strong opposition to the proposed 9,900-Mw plant in their area of Jaitapur.
As former Atomic Energy Commission chief Anil Kakodkar shared the dais with its current chairman Srikumar Banerjee for the first time in the locality, protesters jeered officials of the Department of Atomic Energy, Atomic Energy Commission, Nuclear Power Corporation and Bhabha Atomic Research Centre. Continue reading
Nuclear waste train delayed by huge anti nuclear protest
Thousands block nuke train in Germany ABC 702 Sydney, 28 Nov 11, German police battled thousands of anti-nuclear protesters trying to block a train carrying nuclear waste in the north of the country. The convoy taking the German waste is now nearing the end of its 1,200-kilometre journey from a reprocessing centre in north-western France to a storage facility in the northern German city of Dannenberg.
After stopping for 18 hours, including overnight, amid mass demonstrations, the train only covered about 30 kilometres in four hours. Thousands of activists swarmed the tracks along the route near Dannenberg and boasted that the train’s journey had now topped the 92-hour record set during a shipment one year ago. Continue reading
People’s Movement Against Nuclear Energy details faults in Kudankulam report
Activists dub report on Kudankulam as flawed, THE HINDU 27 Nov 11 Rebuttal by People’s Movement Against Nuclear Energy soon The People’s Movement Against Nuclear Energy (PMANE) on Sunday slammed the report of the Government-appointed expert committee on Kudankulam as being extremely flawed, premised on obsolete demographic data and opaque on the risks from sub-volcanic activity near the site or health impact on the local population.
The PMANE also released a letter to Chief Minister Jayalalithaa seeking her intervention in scrapping the project.
In the letter to the Chief Minister–copies of which were circulated to media – PMANE leaders flayed the Expert Group for ignoring valid questions on liability and declining to give specific or scientific information on nuclear waste or the fresh water needs of the KKNPP. The Expert Group had not talked to any section of the public nor tried to allay the fears and concerns of the people.
“Campaign of canards” The letter also took exception to the Central government’s “campaign of canards” about the anti-nuke activists receiving foreign funds, support and guidance to drive a wedge in the movement and sought to reassure the Chief Minister that there was not an iota of truth in these charges. Continue reading
Nuclear power growing more unpopular – several global polls show
Nuclear power ‘gets little public support worldwide’, By Richard Black, Environment correspondent, BBC News, 26 Nov 11 There is little public appetite across the world for building new nuclear reactors, a poll for the BBC indicates.
In countries with nuclear programmes, people are significantly more opposed than they were in 2005, with only the UK and US bucking the trend. Most believe that boosting efficiency and renewables can meet their needs.
Just 22% agreed that “nuclear power is relatively safe and an important source of electricity, and we should build more nuclear power plants”. In contrast, 71% thought their country “could almost entirely replace coal and nuclear energy within 20 years by becoming highly energy-efficient and focusing on generating energy from the Sun and wind”. Globally, 39% want to continue using existing reactors without building new ones, while 30% would like to shut everything down now.
The global research agency GlobeScan, commissioned by BBC News, polled 23,231 people in 23 countries from July to September this year, several months after an earthquake and giant tsunami devastated Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi power station.
Rising tide GlobeScan had previously polled eight countries with nuclear programmes, in 2005. In most of them, opposition to building new reactors has risen markedly since. In Germany it is up from 73% in 2005 to 90% now – which is reflected in the government’s recent decision to close its nuclear programme.
More intriguingly, it also rose in pro-nuclear France (66% to 83%) and Russia (61% to 83%)…..
The BBC/GlobeScan poll is broadly consistent with other global polls as well. In June, both Ipsos-Mori and the JapaneseAsahi Shimbun newspaper found drops in support for the technology in most countries, with support continuing in a number including the US. The Ipsos-Mori poll found that nuclear enjoyed the lowest support of any established technology for generating electricity, with 38%.
Coal fared not much better, at 48%, while solar, wind and hydro all found favour with more than 90% of those surveyed.
“That renewable energy combined with efficiency can replace coal and nuclear is not only a majority popular belief, but a fact supported by a growing number of authoritative reports,” commented Jan Beranek, who leads the energy team in Greenpeace International. “Nuclear power is a relatively tiny industry with huge economic, technical, safety, environmental, and political problems. “And the Fukushima accident reminded the world that all reactors have inherent risks.”…..http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-15864806
India’s nuclear ambitions, and Australia’s uranium cash cow, now at risk
In the shadow of increasingly fierce grassroots opposition, India’s nuclear ambitions – and Australia’s future uranium cash cow – are looking decidedly less promising.
India’s nuclear ambitions come up against people power, BY:AMANDA HODGE, IDINTHAKARAI, TAMIL NADU :The Australian . November 26, 2011 1 India’s Koodankulam nuclear power project is like the proverbial cockroach in an atomic storm. It has survived the fall of the Soviet Union, the assassination of an Indian prime minister and the Boxing Day tsunami, when waves surged over the site where it now stands.
The first of six reactors to be built on the shore of India’s southernmost tip in Tamil Nadu was to have been switched on next month, 23 years after Mikhail Gorbachev and the slain Rajiv Gandhi signed off on the friendship project.
Instead it has hit another obstacle – an emerging national anti-nuclear campaign that has gained serious momentum since Japan’s Fukushima meltdown in March. Continue reading
Anti nuclear movement winning hearts and minds in India
Anti-nuke lobby seems to be winning the battle in India:Expert IBN Live ,Nov 25,2011 Bangalore, Nov 25 (PTI) A key member of the Indian nuclear establishment today cautioned that if protestors of Koodankulam project in Tamil Nadu succeed in their objective, the country’s entire nuclear programme could be in jeopardy. “..if they (protestors in Koodankulam) are able to succeed, then they can succeed in shutting down the entire nuclear programme …..Member of the Atomic Energy Commission M R Srinivasan told PTI. His warning came even as the protest by locals against the Koodankulam nuclear power project in Tamil Nadu’s Tirunelveli district entered the 100th day yesterday. Srinivasan, a former Secretary to the Department of Atomic Energy, said the “anti-nuclear movement” in the country has become “very strong with lot of support from elsewhere”.
“It seems they (anti-nuclear lobby) are winning the battle”, he said. Srinivasan said “anti-nuclear people are working in an orchestrated way” in Koodankulam. “They are all joining up together…anti-nuclear people in the United States, Australia, Finland, Germany”. “It’s orchestrated completely. Why should school children sit (in protest) morning to evening? Do they understand the issues involved?. They have been told by their parents, they have been told by some religious leaders. So, it (the protest) goes on”. http://ibnlive.in.com/generalnewsfeed/news/antinuke-lobby-seems-to-be-winning-the-battle-in-indiaexpert/914642.html
100 days of anti nuclear protest stall India’s nuclear program
The protest, which began on August 16 at Idinthakarai near Kudankulam, has been a success as it has managed to get the state government pass a resolution in the Cabinet in favour of the local community.
Anti-nuclear protest enters 100th day at Kudankulam, Economic Times 25 NOV, 2011, JOE A SCARIA ,ET BUREAU CHENNAI: The anti-nuclear protest that has stalled the commissioning of the multi-crore nuclear plant at Kudankulam entered the 100th day on Thursday. The protestors from Tamil Nadu’s southern-most districts, Kanyakumari, Tirunelveli and Tuticorin, held an inter-religious prayer meeting at the plant site. The plant staff, including the engineersfrom Russia, continued to stay at home. Continue reading
Worldwide, nuclear power becoming more unpopular – global poll
Opposition to Nuclear Energy grows: Global Poll
Online News, w25 Nov 11 LONDON: Public opinion in many countries with nuclear power programmes has become more opposed to the technology since 2005, with most people believing conservation and renewable energy can meet future needs without nuclear power, a new multi-country poll for the BBC indicates.
Most of those polled in countries with operational nuclear plants are opposed to building new reactors, saying either that their country should “use the nuclear power stations we already have, but not build new ones” (39%), or that “nuclear power is dangerous and we should close down all operating nuclear plants as soon as possible” (30%)…..
Just over one in five respondents (22%) agrees that “nuclear power is relatively safe and an important source of electricity, and we should build more nuclear power plants.” Eight of these countries were also polled in 2005 by Globe Scan about their views, and the results suggest that there has been a sharp increase in opposition to nuclear power in five of them.
The proportion opposing the building of new nuclear power stations has grown to near-unanimity in Germany (from 73% to 90%), but also increased significantly in Mexico (51% to 82%), Japan (76% to 84%), France (66% to 83%), and Russia (from 61% to 80%).[i][i]
In contrast, while still a minority view, support for building new nuclear plants has grown in the UK (from 33% to 37%), is stable in the USA (40% to 39%), and is also high in China (42%) and Pakistan (39%)…….
The poll also indicates that the belief that conservation and renewable energy can fill the gap left, if there is a move away from fossil fuels and nuclear energy, is now the consensus view.
Respondents were asked to say whether they thought that their country “could almost entirely replace coal and nuclear energy within 20 years by becoming highly energy-efficient and focusing on generating energy from the sun and wind,” and more than seven in ten (71%) agree that it could.
The results are drawn from a survey of 23,231 adult citizens across 23 countries. It was conducted for BBC World Service by the international polling firm GlobeScan. GlobeScan coordinated fieldwork between July 3, 2011 and September 16, 2011. Within-country results are considered accurate within +/- 3.1 to 4.4 per cent, 19 times out of 20. http://www.onlinenews.com.pk/details.php?id=186243
Police use water cannons against German anti nuclear protestors
Germany nuclear protesters clash with police, BBC News 24 November 2011 Police in northern Germany have used water cannons against demonstrators waiting for the arrival of a shipment of nuclear waste from France.
Scuffles broke out between police and protesters after fireworks and paint were thrown at officers. Protesters had tried to block a crossroads at Metzingen, near the shipment’s destination. French authorities have stopped the train in Remilly, short of the border.
Some reports quoted authorities as saying it would wait for 24 hours to avoid more mass protests, ….. The train had left Areva’s nuclear fuel reprocessing facility in Normandy on Wednesday after a scuffle between police in riot gear and several hundred protesters who tried to occupy the train tracks near the town of Valognes…..
It is the first waste shipment to Germany since Berlin decided to shut all its nuclear plants by 2022, following Japan’s nuclear disaster caused by the earthquake and tsunami in March.
The train was the last of 12 shipments of treated German nuclear waste sent in recent years from France. The contract between Areva and German nuclear power producers has expired and is not expected to be renewed, as Germany has voted against the transportation of radioactive nuclear fuel.
The train is carrying 11 tubular containers of highly radioactive nuclear waste, that are due to be stored in Gorleben in northeast Germany. But officials have not resolved where waste should be stored permanently and opponents argue that the Gorleben site is unsafe.http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-15883782
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