Police in India must ensure they do not use excessive force against
individuals protesting the Kudankulam nuclear power plant in Tamil Nadu,
Amnesty International said today.
It was this morning that police confronted protesters who had
gathered close to the site of the power plant, firing tear gas shells
and beating protesters with lathis (batons). In response, it is reported
that protestors threw sand and stones at the police.
“The Indian authorities should exercise restraint and ensure that the
police response does not amount to excessive use of force”, said Ananth
Guruswamy, Amnesty International India’s Country Director.
Protests against the Kudankulam plant in the southern Indian state of
Tamil Nadu first began in March this year, and have been based in the
village of Idinthakarai. Demonstrations have intensified over the past
two days with fuelling of the plant set to start on 11 September.
Protestors are demanding that the fuelling is stopped and that a police-imposed curfew on local villages be lifted.
Reports suggest that three women protestors have been arrested by the
police, one of whom has been arrested on charges of sedition. The two
leaders of the protest movement have currently been taken to a
undisclosed location, after villagers reportedly formed a human shield
around them when police tried to arrest them.
Protests are still ongoing, and Amnesty International has received
information that police has entered Idinthakarai, with violence reported
from both police and protesters.
“We ask the police to release those individuals who have been
arrested on apparently false charges and simply for exercising their
right to peaceful political protest,” said Ananth Guruswamy. “Any
reports of the excessive use of force by the police must be promptly
investigated”.
Amnesty International reminds state authorities that any use of force
by the police must be in compliance with international standards for
the protection of the right to life and security of person, including
the UN Code of Conduct for Law Enforcement Officials and the UN Basic
Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms by Law Enforcement
Officials.
Police may resort to force only if other means are ineffective, and
must only use such force as is proportionate to legitimate objectives.
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