Nuclear energy and democracy by admin_dianuke

On March 19, 6,000 armed policemen descended on Koodankulam, a small village near the southern tip of India, to suppress a local protest that, although peaceful, had threatened to derail the establishment of a nuclear plant there. The policemen rapidly arrested hundreds of people, blockaded roads, shut out the media and laid siege to the area where the protesters were based, even stopping the supply of water for a few days.

Ten days later, the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, Jayalalitha, declared victory - disregarding the continuing objections of the protesters - by announcing that the plant would start producing electricity in two months. This is the latest episode in what has turned into a conflict between democracy and the Indian government's plan for a massive nuclear expansion.

The reactors in Koodankulam are manufactured by a Russian company called Atomtroyexport and are the outcome of a 1988 agreement between India and the Soviet Union. This agreement was almost immediately met by popular opposition. In 1989, over 10,000 people participated in a rally against the proposed project. The government's response was drastic: the police opened fire on the protesters. This battle smoldered for the next 10 years, as plans for the plant stalled when the Soviet Union collapsed.

When India and Russia resumed plans in the late 90's, the protests resumed as well. In November 2001, activists founded an umbrella organisation called the "People's Movement Against Nuclear Energy" (PMANE). The government consistently ignored these voices, until the movement was galvanised by the accident in Fukushima.