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Wednesday, Feb 14, 2007
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Orthodox march lathicharged

Staff Reporter

March on seminary issue turns violent before Secretariat

BETTER COUNSEL: A priest seems to be dissuading the police from charging at protestors in front of the Secretariat on Tuesday.

Thiruvananthapuram: Scores of people, including several priests and policemen, were injured when the police swung lathis and fired tear gas shells to disperse a Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church march that turned violent in front of the Government Secretariat on Tuesday afternoon.

A large number of Orthodox Church members, including a large number of priests and some Metropolitans, had marched to the Secretariat in protest against the Government's decision to allow members of the Jacobite Syrian Christian Church (Patriarch faction) to pray at the Thrikunnathu Seminary in Aluva on January 25.

The violence began at 4.30 p.m. when some protestors allegedly threw stones at the police. They allegedly mobbed and beat up two police officers. A 100-strong police posse in front of the gates rushed to the aid of the officers. They used lathis and the water cannon to disperse the faithful. At least three injured priests were taken to hospitals in police vehicles.

The retreating protestors smashed the windscreens of a Government vehicle in front of St. George's Orthodox cathedral at Spencer. Some of them sought refuge inside the church while most stood on the road throwing traffic into disarray for more than three hours. The situation was defused after Inspector-General of Police, South Zone, Arun Kumar Sinha, held talks with the Church leadership. The priests told him that an unknown set of people had fomented the trouble by throwing stones at the police from the top of nearby buildings. Mr. Sinha said he would inquire into the matter.

Later, some journalists who entered the Spencer church were also beaten up. The Church authorities said journalists had assaulted one of their members in front of the police. The police said the injured youth was in their custody and he had been subjected to medical examination. Earlier, Catholicos of the East Baselios Mar Thoma Didymos I inaugurated a protest meeting at Martyrs' Column. He alleged that the Ernakulam district administration and the police ``conspired'' to allow Jacobite priests to worship at the seminary ``in violation of court orders.''

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