Letter to PM from the "Koodankulam Children"

December 26, 2011

The "Koodankulam Children"
Koodankulam
Tirunelveli District
Tamil Nadu
Email: koodankulam@yahoo.com

The Honorable Prime Minister of India
New Delhi 110 001
India

Your Excellency:


Greetings! We, hundreds of thousands of "Koodankulam Children" who
will be the worst victims of a natural or human error or manmade
disaster at the Koodankulam Nuclear Power Project (KKNPP), would like
to appeal to you to scrap the KKNPP project immediately.

We, the future leaders of India, are so sad to see that our present
leaders such as yourself put the interests of multinational
corporations and foreign governments ahead of the needs and wants of
our own country's citizens, especially children like us. Your
government's signing a secret Inter-Governmental Agreement (IGA) with
Russia on liability exemption for Russian government and companies is
just one example.

Our community leaders and anti-nuclear activists are asking your
government, the Department of Atomic Energy, and the KKNPP some
serious questions about the daily routine emissions from the KKNPP
plants; amount and management of radioactive nuclear wastes; the cost
and impact of decommissioning the plants; their fresh water needs and
supply; the impact on our health and wellbeing; the damage to our seas
and sea food; and many other important issues. But you, your
ministers, your bureaucrats, and your Expert Group are all simply
parroting the same meaningless statement that "Koodankulam is safe."
Why don't you all answer our leaders' questions squarely and fairly?

The KKNPP projects are imposed on our communities without our or our
parents' approval or authorization. No basic information has been
shared with them; no public hearing has been conducted; and their
opinions are never entertained or respected. Is this any way to teach
us, the children of India, transparency, accountability, popular
participation and most importantly, democracy? When our parents ask
important questions, they are being accused that they work for foreign
governments, receive foreign money and wage war on the Indian state.

May we point out the fact that your government's energy policy will
deprive us all of our health, well-being, clean air, safe water,
radiation-free sea food and so forth. Your generation has no moral
legitimacy to pollute our natural resources and poison our future in
order to get electricity for 30 to 40 years.

Your recent announcement in Russia that the first Koodankulam reactor
will be operational "in a couple of weeks" has insulted us, the Tamil
children from the Koodankulam area. We are afraid that your government
has been indifferent to the needs and aspirations of the Tamil people.
Please consider us as Indian citizens and give us due respect and
consideration.

May we request you to offer all possible help and cooperation to our
Honorable Chief Minister to protect the fishing rights and security of
Indian fishermen, to overcome the present financial crisis in Tamil
Nadu, and to revive the power utilities in our state as explained in
the Honorable Chief Minister's Memorandum presented to you on December
25, 2011?

Thanking you in anticipation,

Cordially,

The "Koodankulam Children"
from Koothenkuzhi, Idinthakarai, Vairavikinaru, Koodankulam,
Chettikulam, Perumanal and Koottapuli.