LATHICHARGE in KOODANKULAM,PROTESTORS IN SEA

LATHICHARGE in KOODANKULAM

12.00 am

Baton charge and tear gas shells being lobbed. People running towards
sea. Hemmed in between armed police and the sea.

11.30 am

SMS from Dr. S P Udayakumar: Police are intimidating people by moving
closer, swaying batons. Thousands of women and children are here.
Officials threatened with naval intervention. Situation is very tense
and dangerous. We need your appeals to the governments.

10.30 am

Police forces moved inside the siege area and also resorted to baton
charge, which was resisted by people. The people refused to yield, and
the forces withdrew. “The situation is back to normal,” according to
my informant, if what prevailed before the lathi charge could be
considered normal. There is a larger congregation of forces, mostly
wielding batons. A large riot-gear bedecked police force is in the
frontline facing the people, and tear gas lobbers are apparently on
stand-by.

In Chennai, a mass RTI campaign invoking the Life and Liberty clause
is being planned at the NPCIL office at No. 51 Montieth Road, Egmore,
Chennai 8, at 3 p.m. (via Nityanand Jayaraman)

9:00 am.

We just spoke to S P Udayakumar, the humble and inspiring teacher who
has been leading consistently non-violent protests in Koodankulam.

Thousands of people spent whole night yesterday under open sky near
the sea, refusing to go home. The weather was cold and rough. The
people have laid siege 500 metres from the reactor compound, braving
the armed police. There was some commotion mid-night amid rumors that
the police is arresting the leaders. People are protecting the leading
activists, against whom the govt has slapped fictitious criminal
charges including sedition, by forming layers of human-shield around
them.

People have demanded that the planned fuel loading in the reactor must
be immediately stopped. They have also demanded prohibitory orders
imposed in the entire area for last several months must be revoked, so
that people from neighbouring villages could visit them without fear
and bring food and water.

Here are the police officers' numbers; please ask them not to harass
people, intimidate them; or incite violence against unarmed civilians
and nonviolent fighters including thousands of children and women:

Collector, Tirunelveli, 9444185000

DIG, Tirunelveli, 91-9840970530

SP, Tirunelveli, 91-9940193494

DSP, Vallioor, 91-9443554585

Koodankulam Police, 91-4637-250150.

SOURCE: GreenYouth