NO nuclear power plant in Koodankulam!
Picket the High Commission of India, Aldwych, London WC2B
Friday 18th May 2012 4.00pm – 7.00pm
In the face of massive protests from local people, the Indian government, in collaboration with Russian company Atomsroyexport, has been constructing a large-scale nuclear power plant in Koodankulam in south India. More than 300 people are on hunger strike in protest against the construction. The government has reacted to the protests by deploying thousands of police and paramilitary forces in order to commission the reactor in a military style operation. This will have serious consequences for the life and ecology of the whole of peninsular India.
Non-violent protesters are being intimidated, harassed, imprisoned, and falsely charged. From one police station alone, charges have been brought against more than 55,000 people including 6,500 for sedition and ‘war against the state’ in the last eight months.
• The construction violates the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Safety Guidelines as the Koodankulam is in a tsunami and earthquake prone region which has also experienced small volcanic eruptions and is affected by water shortages.
• It is in violation of the mandatory requirement for construction of fresh water reservoirs which are essential in case of a nuclear accident. This is significant, because fresh water is the only remedy in the event of a nuclear emergency. The primary cause for all major accidents – such as at Three Mile Island, Chernobyl and Fukushima – was the lack of fresh water.
• Mandatory reports on the safety of the construction are being withheld from the public and the media.
The first reactor is set to go critical this month. The villages around the plant are placed under a prohibitory order under Section 144 which means that they cannot even peacefully assemble.
We demand:
- • Sedition and ‘war against the state’ cases against members of Koodankulam People’s Movement Against Nuclear Energy must be dropped and Section 144 lifted.
- • International safety regulations for the nuclear plant must be followed.
- • All reports, reviews and information related to the nuclear plant must be transparent and accessible to the public.
This is not just a domestic and national issue, but a global and human concern. People’s basic human rights and environmental safety procedures in the construction of a major nuclear power plant have been appallingly abused.
Please download, print and distribute the poster/flier found here.
Please also sign the petition here.
Supported by:
Foil Vedanta
South Asia Solidarity Group
Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament
Globalise Resistance
South West Against Nuclear (SWAN)