Wednesday, February 1, 2012
INDIA: Assault and stone-pelting on Koodankulam Nuclear Power Plant Protestors including women activists
February 1, 2012
Justice Shri K.G. Balakrishnan,
Chairperson, National Human Rights Commission
Faridkot House, Copernicus Marg,
New Delhi, PIN 110001
INDIA
Fax No. 23384863
E-Mail: covdnhrc@nic.in, ionhrc@nic.in, jrlawnhrc@hub.nic.in
Re: Tirunelveli: Assault and stone-pelting on Koodankulam Nuclear Power Plant Protestors including women activists
Dear Chairperson, National Human Rights Commission,
I am a Human rights activist and journalist. I am sharing my deep concern the attack and stone pelting on the representatives of Peoples Movement against Nuclear Energy including 15 women.
Incident:
A civil group spearheading the protest against the Koodankulam Nuclear Power Project (KNPP) called off talks with the central government-appointed experts' panel, after the former's members were assaulted in Tirunelveli District of Tamil Nadu on January 31, 2012 when they were on their way for the talks.
According to the information received, the Central government-appointed expert group was scheduled to have its fourth round of talks on 31st January 2012 (Tuesday) at 11.00 a.m. in the District Collector's office, Tirunelveli. The representatives of Peoples Movement against Nuclear Energy (PMANE) – Pushparayan and Jesuraj and 20 women accompanying them have been attacked by Goondas (hired thugs) near Tirunelveli Collecotrate on their way to attend talks with the Central Government Expert Panel. The women who tried to shield the PMANE representatives were also beaten up and they are in hospital now. The goons were said to have been hired by some local Congress leaders.
The activists came to meet the Central government-appointed expert group for the fourth round of talks but after stones were pelted at them, they decided to boycott the meeting.
The Koodankulam Anti Nuclear protest has stood out as a symbol of non-violent protest. This move of attacking movement leaders is a strategy of trying to create tension and turn the movement violent. The PMANE movement has withdrawn from the talks after the incident which gave clear indications of the Central Government's backdoor working. Protests are happening in Tirunelveli and other southern Tamilnadu districts condemning the attacks.
It is note-worthy that for the past three months the activists have been said to receive threats from the goons of Congress Party. On the eve of the crucial talks, anti-nuclear activists had said that their representatives would not engage in any dialogue, despite promising their attendance.
Additional Information:
The coordinator of the People's Movement Against Nuclear Energy (PMANE) stated "We have no faith in the talks. None of the questions we had asked were answered and the documents we had asked for were not furnished. Meanwhile, our members have been assaulted when they had gone to participate in the talks. We are calling off the talks".
A representative of the protestors in the expert panel formed by the State Government said that they would go to the meeting but would not engage in any dialogue with them. They also demanded that they needed to talk to the people living within a radius of 30 km (around the Plant) and to the expert panel.
The anti-KNPP agitators' intensifying their stir, has come a day before the fourth and possibly, the final round of talks between the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) nominated panel of experts and the state government's committee, slated to be held in Tirunelveli on Tuesday, as part of a long-drawn exercise to dispel local people's fears about KNPP.
It was expected that M Pushparayan, convener of Coastal People's Federation and M P Jesuraj would represent the anti-nuke protestors as part of the state panel in the talks with the Central panel headed by E Muthunayagam. PMANE had initially protested that they would boycott the talks, but changed the stance.
The previous three rounds of talks between the panels held on the 7th and 18th of November and 15th of December 2011 had failed to make any headway towards commissioning of the first unit at the KNPP as local people protesting against the project were not satisfied with the answers given by the expert group to their queries.
The Central Government Panel has failed to answer most of the questions raised by the movements own panel and whatever answers given, were all unsatisfactory. Moreover the central panel and central government have also refused to meet the movement's expert panel and have an open discussion.
The Indo-Russian joint venture ran into trouble with activists and local people going on protest citing safety concerns in the wake of the Fukushima Disaster in Japan early last year.
Simultaneously, pressure from various quarters including industry is mounting on Tamil Nadu government and the Central team to resolve the deadlock as the state's power situation is taking a turn for the worse.
We are concerned that the attack on the activists was pre-planned and aimed at suppressing their genuine voices of protest against the Koodankulam Nuclear Power Plant in Tamil Nadu.
Appeal
I, therefore, urge you to immediately take necessary steps to
- Guarantee in all circumstances the physical and psychological integrity of all the activists of anti-Koodankulam Nuclear Power Plant Campaign who were protesting in a peaceful manner;
- Initiate a departmental enquiry against the perpetrators who pelted stones and attacked the group of activists which included women and those behind them;
- Conform to the provisions of the United Nations Declaration on Human Rights Defenders, adopted by the UN General Assembly on December 9, 1998, especially:
- its Article 1, which states that "everyone has the right, individually and in association with others, to promote and to strive for the protection and realisation of human rights and fundamental freedoms at the national and international levels";
- and its Article 12.2, which states that "the State shall take all necessary measures to ensure the protection by the competent authorities of everyone, individually and in association with others, against any violence, threats, retaliation, de facto or de jure adverse discrimination, pressure or any other arbitrary action as a consequence of his or her legitimate exercise of the rights referred to in the present Declaration";
4. Ensure in all circumstances respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms in accordance with international human rights standards and international instruments ratified by India.
Looking forward to your immediate action in this regard,
Yours sincerely,
William Nicholas Gomes
William's Desk
www.williamgomes.org
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Re: Why Climate Change Will Make You Love Big Government
groups.google.com/group/politicalforum/attach/627cb713e878b74a/
MoonBats.jpg?part=4&view=1> wrote:
> On Tue, Jan 31, 2012 at 3:13 PM, Tommy News <tommysn...@gmail.com> wrote:
> > Why Climate Change Will Make You Love Big Government
> > Christian Parenti January 26, 2012
>
> > This article originally appeared at TomDispatch.com. To stay on top of
> > important articles like these, sign up to receive the latest updates
> > from TomDispatch.com.
>
> > Look back on 2011 and you'll notice a destructive trail of extreme
> > weather slashing through the year. In Texas, it was the driest year
> > ever recorded. An epic drought there killed half a billion trees,
> > touched off wildfires that burned four million acres and destroyed or
> > damaged thousands of homes and buildings. The costs to agriculture,
> > particularly the cotton and cattle businesses, are estimated at $5.2
> > billion—and keep in mind that, in a winter breaking all sorts of
> > records for warmth, the Texas drought is not yet over.
>
> > About the Author
> > Christian Parenti
> > Christian Parenti, a Nation contributing editor, fellow at The Nation
> > Institute and visiting scholar at the CUNY...
> > Also by the Author
> > Soaring Food Prices, Wild Weather and a Planetful of Trouble (Global
> > Warming and Climate Change, World)
> > From Kyrgyzstan to Kenya, from Libya to Yemen, Syria and even Egypt,
> > violence and upheaval can be traced back to the price of a loaf of
> > bread.
>
> > Christian Parenti 2 comments
> > Pakistan One Year After the Floods (Global Warming and Climate Change,
> > World)
> > When extreme weather hits amid extreme poverty, escape becomes nearly
> > impossible.
>
> > Christian Parenti 1 comment
> > Related Topics
> > August Disaster Environmental Issue Human Interest Natural Disaster
> > New York City Social Issues Technology United States World Bank east
> > coast In August, the East Coast had a close brush with calamity in the
> > form of Hurricane Irene. Luckily, that storm had spent most of its
> > energy by the time it hit land near New York City. Nonetheless, its
> > rains did at least $7 billion worth of damage, putting it just below
> > the $7.2 billion worth of chaos caused by Katrina back in 2005.
>
> > Across the planet the story was similar. Wildfires consumed large
> > swaths of Chile. Colombia suffered its second year of endless rain,
> > causing an estimated $2 billion in damage. In Brazil, the life-giving
> > Amazon River was running low due to drought. Northern Mexico is still
> > suffering from its worst drought in seventy years. Flooding in the
> > Thai capital, Bangkok, killed over 500 and displaced or damaged the
> > property of twelve million others, while ruining some of the world's
> > largest industrial parks. The World Bank estimates the damage in
> > Thailand at a mind-boggling $45 billion, making it one of the most
> > expensive disasters ever. And that's just to start a 2011
> > extreme-weather list, not to end it.
>
> > Such calamities, devastating for those affected, have important
> > implications for how we think about the role of government in our
> > future. During natural disasters, society regularly turns to the state
> > for help, which means such immediate crises are a much-needed reminder
> > of just how important a functional big government turns out to be to
> > our survival.
>
> > These days, big government gets big press attention—none of it
> > anything but terrible. In the United States, especially in an election
> > year, it's become fashionable to beat up on the public sector and all
> > things governmental (except the military). The Right does it nonstop.
> > All their talking points disparage the role of an oversized federal
> > government. Anti-tax zealot Grover Norquist famously set the tone for
> > this assault. "I'm not in favor of abolishing the government," he
> > said. "I just want to shrink it down to the size where we can drown it
> > in the bathtub." He has managed to get 235 members of the House of
> > Representatives and forty-one members of the Senate to sign his
> > "Taxpayer Protection Pledge" and thereby swear never, under any
> > circumstances, to raise taxes.
>
> > By now, this viewpoint has taken on the aura of folk wisdom, as if the
> > essence of democracy were to hate government. Even many on the Left
> > now regularly dismiss government as nothing but oversized, wasteful,
> > bureaucratic, corrupt and oppressive, without giving serious
> > consideration to how essential it may be to our lives.
>
> > But don't expect the present "consensus" to last. Global warming and
> > the freaky, increasingly extreme weather that will accompany it is
> > going to change all that. After all, there is only one institution
> > that actually has the capacity to deal with multibillion-dollar
> > natural disasters on an increasingly routine basis. Private security
> > firms won't help your flooded or tornado-struck town. Private
> > insurance companies are systematically withdrawing coverage from
> > vulnerable coastal areas. Voluntary community groups, churches,
> > anarchist affinity groups—each may prove helpful in limited ways, but
> > for better or worse, only government has the capital and capacity to
> > deal with the catastrophic implications of climate change.
>
> > Consider Hurricane Irene: as it passed through the Northeast, states
> > mobilized more than 100,000 National Guard troops. New York City
> > opened seventy-eight public emergency shelters prepared to house up to
> > 70,000 people. In my home state, Vermont, where the storm devastated
> > the landscape, destroying or damaging 200 bridges, more than 500 miles
> > of road, and 100 miles of railroad, the National Guard airlifted in
> > free food, water, diapers, baby formula, medicine and tarps to
> > thousands of desperate Vermonters trapped in thirteen stranded
> > towns—all free of charge to the victims of the storm.
>
> > The damage to Vermont was estimated at up to $1 billion. Yet the state
> > only has 621,000 residents, so it could never have raised all the
> > money needed to rebuild alone. Vermont businesses, individuals and
> > foundations have donated at least $4 million, possibly up to $6
> > million in assistance, an impressive figure, but not a fraction of
> > what was needed. The state government immediately released $24 million
> > in funds, crucial to getting its system of roads rebuilt and
> > functioning, but again that was a drop in the bucket, given the level
> > of damage. A little known state-owned bank, the Vermont Municipal Bond
> > Bank, also offered low-interest, low-collateral loans to towns to aid
> > reconstruction efforts. But without federal money, which covered 80 to
> > 100 percent of the costs of rebuilding many Vermont roads, the state
> > would still be an economic basket case. Without aid from Washington,
> > the transportation network might have taken years to recover.
>
> > As for flood insurance, the federal government is pretty much the only
> > place to get it. The National Flood Insurance Program has written 5.5
> > million policies in more than 21,000 communities covering $1.2
> > trillion worth of property. As for the vaunted private market,
> > for-profit insurance companies write between 180,000 and 200,000
> > policies in a given year. In other words, that is less than 5 percent
> > of all flood insurance in the United States. This federally subsidized
> > program underwrites the other 95 percent. Without such insurance, it's
> > not complicated: many waterlogged victims of 2011, whether from record
> > Midwestern floods or Hurricane Irene, would simply have no money to
> > rebuild.
>
> > Or consider sweltering Texas. In 2011, firefighters responded to
> > 23,519 fires. In all, 2,742 homes were destroyed by out-of-control
> > wildfires. But government action saved 34,756 other homes. So you
> > decide: Was this another case of wasteful government intervention in
> > the marketplace, or an extremely efficient use of resources?
>
> > Facing Snowpocalypse Without Plows
>
> > The early years of this century have already offered a number of
> > examples of how disastrous too little government can be in the face of
> > natural disaster, Katrina-inundated New Orleans in 2005 being perhaps
> > the quintessential case.
>
> > There are, however, other less noted examples that nonetheless helped
> > concentrate the minds of government planners. For example, in the
> > early spring of 2011, a massive blizzard hit New York City. Dubbed
> > "Snowmageddon" and "Snowpocalypse," the storm arrived in the midst of
> > tense statewide budget negotiations and a nationwide assault on state
> > workers (and their pensions).
>
> > In New York, Mayor Mike Bloomberg was pushing for cuts to the
> > sanitation department budget. As the snow piled up, the people tasked
> > with removing it—sanitation workers—failed to appear in sufficient
> > numbers. As the city ground to a halt, New Yorkers were left to fend
> > for themselves with nothing but shovels, their cars, doorways, stores,
> > roads all hopelessly buried. Chaos ensued. Though nowhere near as
> > destructive as Katrina, the storm became a case study in too little
> > governance and the all-too-distinct limits of "self-reliance" when
> > nature runs amuck. In the week that followed, even the rich were
> > stranded amid the mounting heaps of snow and uncollected garbage.
>
> > Mayor Bloomberg emerged from the debacle chastened, even though he
> > accused the union of staging a soft strike, a work-to-rule-style
> > slowdown that held the snowbound city hostage. The union denied
> > engaging in any such illegal actions. Whatever the case, the blizzard
> > focused thinking locally on the nature of public workers. It suddenly
> > made sanitation workers less invisible and forced a set of questions:
> > Are public workers really "union fat cats" with "sinecures" gorging at
> > the public trough? Or are they as essential to the basic functions of
> > the city as white blood cells to the health of the human body?
> > Clearly, in snowbound New York it was the latter. No sanitation
> > workers and your city instantly turns chaotic and fills with garbage,
> > leaving street after street lined with the stuff.
>
> > More broadly the question raised was: Can an individual, a town,
>
> ...
>
> read more »
>
> MoonBats.jpg
> 86KViewDownload
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Texas Sheriff's Exam
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Manly Rules for Naming Man’s Best Friend
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