Activist priest Thomas Kocherry passes away

Priest and social activist Thomas Kocherry, who led several agitations of traditional fishing community in the country, passed away here, National Fish Workers Forum (NFWF) sources said today.
Kocherry (74) passed away yesterday. The founder leader of NFWF had been keeping unwell for the last few months.
He along with some fellow priests and nuns had turned to activism inspired by Liberation Theology that saw sections in the Catholic church in Latin America supporting movements for social justice and equity.
Ignoring reservations of conservative sections in the church establishment, he led agitations in Kerala and other parts of the country for protecting the livelihood of artisanal fisher people and preservation of marine ecological system.

It was due to this agitation that Kerala introduced the monsoon season ban on trawling along the state's coast as a measure to conserve fish stock during the breeding season.
He was arrested and locked up several times in the late 1970s and 1980s for hitting the street in the forefront of fishermen's struggles against a host of issues, including permission to foreign trawlers to operate in the country's coastal waters.
Kocherry also played a key role in organising World Forum of Fisher People and National Alliance of Peoples Movement.
In recent times, he supported the agitation against the nuclear energy plant at Kudankulam in Tamil Nadu.