Govt should not take retaliatory measures against Vizhinjam port protestors: Baselios Marthoma Mathews III

NEW DELHI: Orthodox church primate Baselios Marthoma Mathews III, Catholicos of the East and Malankara Metropolitan of the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church, said that the government should not retaliate against the protestors participating in the Vizhinjam protest. He said in Delhi that the strike cannot be contained through retaliatory measures and will demand the government's intervention to resolve the issue. "The position of the Orthodox Church is that the Vizhinjam project should be implemented, but he demanded that the project should be implemented by taking the coastal residents into faith. It is the responsibility of the government to ensure the safety of people and the project should be implemented by providing security to property and life", he said.

After the Vizhinjam port strike turned violent, the Latin Archdiocese Archbishop Dr. Thomas J. Neto was named as the first accused in the police case. Including him, about fifty priests have been arraigned in the accused list. In the FIR, it is said that there was a conspiracy by the Archbishop and other priests. A case has also been registered for destroying public property worth more than two lakh rupees during the strike. Apart from receiving the complaint, the police has taken up the case voluntarily. Priests, named as accused number one to fifteen on the list were not directly involved in the conflict. The FIR states that the priests had hatched a conspiracy and organized more than a thousand known people to reach Mullur and created conflict by bypassing the instructions of the High Court and the government. A list of 96 persons has been included in the FIR. Sections like attempted murder, conspiracy, incitement, unlawful assembly and destruction of public property have been imposed.