Indian government seeks Church help to solve nuclear protest

(October 14, 2011) The Indian government is seeking the help of the Catholic Church to diffuse a protest against the building of a nuclear plant in southern India’s Tamil Nadu state. The blockade against the 3$bn nuclear power plant under construction at Koodankulam, which started on Thursday, gathered momentum on Friday with thousands of protestors, including Catholic fishermen from nearby 13 villages, preventing anyone entering the site in support of their demand for scrapping the $3 billion project. Jones Thomas of the Coastal Protection Front, said: “Nuclear energy is dangerous and we want the plant to be removed from our neighbourhood.” Local bishop Yvon Ambroise of Tuticorin said the Church searching for a dialogue to solve the crisis. However, he clarified that Church leaders are “supporting the protest as it is a peoples’ movement,” but they are not instigating them reported erroneously by a section of the media. On October 12, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh sought the help of the Archbishop of Bombay, Cardinal Oswald Gracias, to diffuse the agitation as the majority of protestors are Catholic fishermen. The Cardinal, who heads the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India, told Singh that whatever safety measures are kept, the local people must feel safe ultimately.