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SJB Deputy General Secretary Mujibur Rahman
Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) Deputy General Secretary Mujibur Rahman yesterday strongly criticised the Government for its purported move to issue licences that would permit Indian fishermen to carry out fishing operations in Sri Lankan waters.
“Allowing Indian fishermen to enter Sri Lankan waters will invariably lead to Sri Lanka losing its marine resources creating yet another issue within the country,” he stressed.
Rahman accused President Ranil Wickremesinghe of reaching a secret agreement with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his visit in August to India, which would allow Indian fishermen to engage in fishing activities in Sri Lanka. “This is evident from the Government’s current efforts to amend the Fisheries Act to accommodate this,” he observed.
Rahman said this action would not only adversely impact the livelihoods of the northern fishermen but also the entire fishing community throughout the island. “The amendment to the act will allow Indian fishermen to steal our fisheries resources,” he alleged.
The veteran politician also expressed concerns that there are now doubts about whether the Sri Lanka Navy will retain the legal authority in the future to apprehend any illegal fishermen entering Sri Lankan waters to engage in unlawful activities.
These allegations coincide with the demand from Indian politicians and fisheries organisations for the release of 37 Tamil Nadu fishermen who were apprehended by the Sri Lanka Navy for illegal fishing in Sri Lankan waters on Saturday. In this month alone, the Sri Lanka Navy has seized 10 fishing boats and detained 64 fishermen from Tamil Nadu for engaging in unauthorised fishing activities within Sri Lankan waters.
