Respected Prime Minister Manmohan Singh,
This is to express shock and dismay over the Indian government’s reaction to the protests of the population in the southern part of Tamil Nadu, against construction and commissioning of the nuclear plant in Koodankulam. We are appalled by news report stating that the police has unleashed violence against thousands of peaceful demonstrators staging a Gandhian-style action of civil disobedience along the sea, a jal-satyagraha. Journalists and other witnesses have for instance reported that two persons have died in police firing; that massive amounts of teargas have been employed against demonstrators on the beach; and that activists have arbitrarily been arrested and detained.
The fisher-folk and peasant women and men in the surroundings of Koodankulam have expressed legitimate and as yet unaddressed concerns over the nuclear plant’s safety. These concerns were recently underlined by the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board’s admission that it has not yet implemented the recommendations of its own review committee. These recommendations, as we understand, notably cover the following points: revision of the safety ´parameters´ of the reactor and installation of back-up freshwater and energy sources for an emergency, i.e. to address a situation where the plant’s cooling and electricity systems fail. Nor has an emergency-evacuation drill been conducted in a 16-kilometre radius, as is mandatory prior to fuel-loading. One thus wonders what lessons the Indian government has drawn from the Fukushima disaster just one and a half year back?
Another reason for concern is the fact that the government has refused to disclose critical information relating to Koodankulam. Such as: information regarding the (un)safety of the reactor´s location along the coast; the government’s plans for management and disposal of nuclear waste; and the contents of the agreement reportedly indemnifying the Russian supplier of the reactor against accidents. The given agreement is contrary to generally accepted principles on ´absolute liability´. It seems evident that all existing documents regarding the mentioned themes need to be discussed publicly, especially with the people living in the surrounding area directly affected by the nuclear plant.
It is deeply deplorable that the Indian government accuses activists and citizens of ´sedition´, and dismisses their jal satyagraha as a ´foreign conspiracy´ - despite the overwhelming evidence showing that the Koodankulam movement is a genuine mass movement of the local population in Tamil Nadu. This is not only undemocratic. It also seems very shortsighted to brush aside citizens´ worries over the safety of nuclear reactors and suppress their dissent. We therefore call upon the Indian government to suspend all operations relating to the Koodankulam plant and initiate a democratic process of consultation with the entire population in the region. We believe that the nuclear plant should not be put into operation – unless it obtains the unequivocal consent of all people living in the plant´s vicinity.
Yours in trust,
Peer de Rijk, WISE
Dirk Bannink, LAKA
Amsterdam/The Hague, The Netherlands, September 21, 2012
