In a move likely to have electoral ramifications, the Left Democratic Front (LDF) government on Friday withdrew the cases registered against Latin Catholic Church-backed protesters who agitated against the construction of an international seaport at Vizhinjam in December 2022.
The Chief Minister Office (CMO) said that the government had withdrawn the bulk of cases registered during the protests, which saw large-scale violence, police-protestor clashes that injured both sides, widespread destruction of public property, road blockades, and the stoppage of the construction of the sea wall.
Rescinded 157 cases
The CMO said the police registered 199 cases, of which the government rescinded 157. The government had withdrawn the cases based on individual petitions. It has yet to take a call on instances of serious offences. At a stroke, the government has sought to remove the sore point between the Church and the ruling front.
The police had charged hundreds of protestors, including women. They included members of the Latin Catholic clergy. The Archbishop of the Archdiocese of the Catholic Church (Latin Rite) Thomas J. Netto, Auxiliary Bishop Christudas, and Vicar General Eugene Pereira were also named as accused by the police.
The charges against the protestors who vandalised the Vizhinjam police station included criminal conspiracy, attempt to murder, unlawful assembly, rioting, and voluntarily causing grievous hurt to officers discharging their duty and destruction of police property, including patrol vehicles.
Alienated left
The Church-backed fishers’ agitation surprised the government. It arguably alienated the Left Democratic Front (LDF) from the State’s sizeable fishing community, a crucial voting bloc, especially in the Thiruvananthapuram Lok Sabha constituency.
Fishers reinforced by priests and parishioners went on the warpath in August 2022, citing severe livelihood and environmental concerns caused by the construction of the sea wall.
They alleged the port had made the waters dangerous and rendered fishing in littoral waters perilous. Moreover, the protestors alleged that the sea wall had destroyed traditional fish spawning grounds, aggravated beach erosion and seriously whittled daily catch, dealing a harsh economic blow to the fishing community.
The government attempted to assuage the fishing community by promising a credible impact assessment study by independent experts to assess the long-term environmental fallout of the port accurately.
It announced a Cabinet sub-committee to address the fisher’s concerns and declared a compensation and re-housing package. The Church signalled a temporary truce with the government.
