April 12, 2012
By Sudha Ramachandran -
Sudha Ramachandran
By Sudha Ramachandran -BANGALORE/ Asia Times Online – Sri Lanka’s Minister of Power and Energy Patali Champika Ranawaka’s recent announcement that Colombo was considering raising the issue of the safety of India’s nuclear power plants with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has been widely interpreted in the Indian media as retaliation for India’s vote supporting an anti-Sri Lanka resolution at the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) recently.
“We respect the right of India to have nuclear power stations,” Ranawaka told journalists in Colombo. “But our concerns are on the possible radiation affects they could have on Sri Lanka,” he said.
Ranawaka drew attention to nuclear plants located in southern India and pointed out that in the event of a nuclear disaster in India, Mannar in Sri Lanka’s northwest would be hit hard.
Sudha Ramachandran is an independent journalist/researcher based in Bangalore. She can be reached atsudha98@hotmail.com
