A day ahead of the scheduled indefinite fast against the Vizhinjam International seaport by Thomas J. Netto, Archbishop of the Latin Archdiocese of Thiruvananthapuram, and former Bishop Soosa Pakiam M, a circular was read out in the churches under the Latin Archdiocese during the Sunday mass pledging to intensify the protest against the port project.
The protest by the fishermen against the seaport was launched 45 days ago and is being spearheaded by the Latin Archdiocese.
Sunday’s circular was issued by Fr. Netto, who said the protest would continue until the demands raised were met. Though several rounds of talks were held between protesters and the State government over the issue of port construction, no solid assurance was given by the State government.
Further, the High Court had issued a direction in favour of the port authorities to continue the work while allowing the protesters to hold peaceful protest. The fishermen claim this furthered the pro-port stance taken by the State government.
Considering all these, the protest by the fishermen and their families should be continued in front of the port entrance until the demands were met, said the circular. The seven-point demands raised by the fishermen included halting the port construction for holding a scientific study to assess the impact of the erosion allegedly caused by the port construction and a comprehensive rehabilitation package, among other demands.
Meanwhile, Opposition Leader V.D. Satheeshan has appealed to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan to avoid a situation of pushing an archbishop and former archbishop into hunger strike over the port project. The Chief Minister should intervene urgently and hold direct talks with the protesters to resolve the strike, said Mr. Satheeshan.
The Ministerial committee had held several rounds of discussions in vain to settle the strike by the fishermen. There was no logic in assuming that the discussion by the Ministerial committee could solve the issue. In this situation, it was desirable for the Chief Minister to take the lead to hold a direct talk with the leaders of the protest to resolve the Vizhinjam strike permanently, said Mr. Satheeshan.
The archbishop and former archbishop of the Latin Archdiocese will start an indefinite hunger strike in front of the port from Monday.
