{"id":2514,"date":"2012-03-26T08:34:37","date_gmt":"2012-03-26T07:34:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/socialism.in\/?p=2514"},"modified":"2012-03-26T19:54:12","modified_gmt":"2012-03-26T18:54:12","slug":"anti-koodankulam-nuclear-struggle-update-message-from-sp-udaykumar","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/socialism.in\/?p=2514","title":{"rendered":"Kudankulam on the boil"},"content":{"rendered":"

Struggle needs your support now!<\/em><\/strong> SP Udayakumar’s appeal <\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

<\/strong>
\nThe following appeal by SP Udaykumar (Convener, People’s Movement Against Nuclear Energy \u2013 PMANE), comes at a crucial juncture for the whole campaign against the Koodankulam nuclear plant. With the Governments of both the state of Tamil Nadu\u00a0 and the Centre ganging up against the struggle, it is a situation of do or die at the site of Struggle.<\/em><\/p>\n

Chief Minister, J Jayalalitha\u00a0 waiting for the by-elections to get over and giving the go ahead for the plant is an act of betrayal. Adding fuel to the fire, false ccases cases are being foisted on important young functionaries in the movement. The \u00a0 the whole area around the nuclear power plant has been surrounded by armed police and para military forces blocking the essential food and medicinal items to the villagers. There is a virtual\u00a0 army siege of the area around Idinthakarai
\n<\/em><\/p>\n

But with the exemplary defiance shown by the people of Idinthankarai and the surrounding villages, the indefinite hunger strike being undertaken by SP Udayakumar and his close supporters, the movement is gaining more and more support everyday. With the recent high court order allowing for supply of food, water, electricity and other essential supplies, the siege by the police seems to have relaxed a bit for now, but as everyone in the movement is well aware, it is highly unlikely for the government to give up so easily. <\/em><\/p>\n

The only insurance for the campaign against Kudankulam Nuclear Plant to become successful is a robust movement of solidarity all over India. <\/em>New Socialist Alternative(CWI-India) <\/strong><\/em>in total solidarity with the movement led by <\/em>PMANE<\/strong><\/em> is publishing this fervent appeal by <\/em>SP Udayakuma<\/strong><\/em>r to galvanise support nationally and internationally.<\/em><\/p>\n

We appeal to all the sections of the Committee for a Workers International<\/strong> (CWI) to make common cause with this struggle and send protest letters to the Govt. of India (details given below) and hold pickets before the Indian embassies wherever possible. Please send a copy of your actions and letters to newsocialist.in@gmail.com<\/p>\n

<\/em><\/p>\n

Editors
\nhttp:\/\/socialism.in<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Anti-Koodankulam Nuclear Struggle Update: Message from SP Udaykumar<\/strong><\/p>\n

Dear Friends:<\/p>\n

Greetings! Pushparayan, the other 13 friends and I have become weaker and tired; but we are still able to sit up and talk to people. Today is the seventh day of the indefinite hunger strike. Nobody from the State Government or the Central Government has bothered to come and see us or talk to us. A medical team came to check our health day before yesterday (March 23) but no public health officials came and offered any help even though some 10,000 people have been congregating here at Idinthakarai every day since March 19th. Our friends from Idinthakarai have been cooking some simple meals for all these people and most of the people are sleeping here as there is the prohibitory order of 144 still in effect. They are scared of going out of this foot-ball stadium sized space in front of the St. Lourdes church. The police are waiting for me and Pushparayan to collapse so that we would go to an hospital for treatment and they could arrest us there. How cruel and anti-people our governments could become!<\/p>\n

In the meantime, the Tamil Nadu government has convened a meeting of some 13 Panchayat (local body) leaders to plan to distribute the 500-crore package the government has announced for the victims of nuclear development. The state police continues its crack down; they tried to arrest three men at Koodankulam and they all managed to give a slip. The police go to some of the coastal villages and order them to go fishing in order to create a picture of normalcy in the area. They also ask them not to carry any food by boat to Idinthakarai and threaten them with cases if they did. People defy this kind of intimidating exercises.<\/p>\n

This is a struggle (but \u2018war\u2019 in the eyes of our opponents) between rich, famous, powerful, upper-class and upper-caste pro-mega-development folks and poor, unknown, powerless, lower-class and lower-caste pro-sustainable development masses. The governments here work for the profit of Russia and not for the people of India. The governments engaged in massive power cuts over the past few months in order to create a huge hatred against us and opposition to our struggle. Now that they have resumed work at the Koodankulam plant, the officials say they do not know how long it will take for electricity generation. Now people of Tamil Nadu know that Koodankulam is not the answer for our power crisis. The people of Tamil Nadu and India will wake up to many such realities soon with regards to Pechipparai dam water, reprocessing plant at Koodankulam, weapons facilities, atomic bombs etc.<\/p>\n

India is a highly- and densely-populated country and even a small mishap at a nuclear facility will create such a havoc and mayhem for millions of people and jeopardize the survival and wellbeing of millions and millions of our brothers and sisters. We are not against the progress of our country and state but we feel that such a progress should be longstanding and sustainable for our future generations also. We have no moral authority to poison the resources of our future generations in order to produce electricity for us for 40 years. We say that let India be a world leader with creative and original ideas and programs rather than the slave of Russia, United States and France.<\/p>\n

The governments here are taking up a new weapon now and that is our alleged links with Naxalites (Maoists). They are fabricating evidences and concocting conversations to establish that we have connections with Naxal youth and trying to portray us as a violent group. The whole world knows that we have been struggling for the past eight months in a nonviolent manner with absolutely no violence or terror. They will fail as they have in the \u201cforeign hand\u201d and \u201cforeign money\u201d accusations. \u00a0The governments are desperately trying to provoke our people to prove their theory that \u201cordinary citizens\u201d of our country do not have a mind of their own; they cannot think for themselves; they cannot stand up for their rights and entitlements in a nonviolent noncooperation campaign; and most importantly, these fishermen, Nadars, Dalits, Muslims, women and children are all dispensable for the growth of the Chennai-based and Delhi-based multi-billionaires. Well, that is the logic of globalization and that is what we vehemently oppose.<\/p>\n

People power or nuclear power? Moral power or money\/military power? Civil power or State power? Which side you are on? The people of Tamil Nadu, and the people of India, please think of this!<\/p>\n

People here and I may die in this hunger strike or in a few years out of old age. But please think of the world, country, state you want to have for yourself and your progeny. That is what human politics is all about. I would leave the golden lines of Martin Niemoller,\u00a0a German pastor and theologian\u00a0for you to reflect on:<\/p>\n

First they came for the\u00a0communists,
\nand I didn’t speak out because I wasn’t a communist.<\/p>\n

Then they came for the\u00a0trade unionists,
\nand I didn’t speak out because I wasn’t a trade unionist.<\/p>\n

Then they came for the\u00a0Jews,
\nand I didn’t speak out because I wasn’t a Jew.<\/p>\n

Then they came for me
\nand there was no one left to speak out for me.
\n
\nS. P. Udayakumar
\nIdinthakarai
\nMarch 25, 2012<\/em><\/p>\n

P.S.: If you would like to speak to the Tamil Nadu Government on behalf of us, please feel free to use the following contact coordinates:<\/strong><\/p>\n

FAX TO CHIEF MINISTER; 044-25676929,
\nFAX TO CM OFFICE; 044 25671441
\nFAX TO CHIEF SECRETARY: 044 \u2013 25672304
\nFAX TO CHIEF SECRETARY: 044 \u2013 26247227
\nEMAIL: cmcell@tn.nic.in,\u00a0cmcell@tn.gov.in<\/p>\n

Please Send Protest letters to: <\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

J. Jayalalitha<\/strong>
\nChief Minister of Tamil Nadu,
\nSecretariat, Chennai 600 009
\nPhone +91-44-25670132
\nfax +91-44-25671441
\nEmail- cmsec@tn.gov.in, cmcell@tn.gov.in<\/em><\/p>\n

Manmohan Singh,<\/strong>
\nPrime Minister of India,
\nSouth Block, Raisina Hill, New Delhi-110001
\nPhone +91-11-23012312 Fax +91-11-23019545, 23016857
\nEmail- manmohan@sansad.nic.in<\/p>\n

P. Chidambaram, <\/strong>
\nUnion Minister of Home Affairs,
\nMinistry ofHome Affairs,
\n104-107 North Block, New Delhi 110 001 India, Fax: +91 11 2309 2979 \/ 23094221
\nE.mail: hm@nic.in<\/p>\n

Please contact these officials and request them to stop harassing people and to allow essential supplies like water\/food\/electricity\/diesel\/medicines:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Chief Secretary: cs@tn.gov.in
\nFax: 044 25672304 DGP: phq@tn.nic.in
\nFax: 044 28447703 SP, Tirunelveli: sptveli@yahoo.com
\nFax: 0462-2568027 District Collector, Tirunelveli: collrtnv@nic.in
\nFax: 0462-2500244 Coast Guard: ops-east@indiancoastguard.nic.in,
\nFax: 044-23460423 rhq-east@indiancoastguard.nic.in<\/p>\n

Please send a copy of the letter to newsocialist.in@gmail.com<\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/em><\/p>\n

<\/em><\/p>\n

<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Struggle needs your support now! SP Udayakumar’s appeal The following appeal by SP Udaykumar (Convener, People’s Movement Against Nuclear Energy \u2013 PMANE), comes at a crucial juncture for the whole campaign against the Koodankulam nuclear plant. With the Governments of both the state of Tamil Nadu\u00a0 and the Centre ganging up against the struggle, it […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[33,8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2514","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-anti-nuclear-struggles","category-tamil-nadu"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/socialism.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2514","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/socialism.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/socialism.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/socialism.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/socialism.in\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2514"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/socialism.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2514\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2521,"href":"https:\/\/socialism.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2514\/revisions\/2521"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/socialism.in\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2514"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/socialism.in\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2514"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/socialism.in\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2514"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}