Fisheries crisis tops agenda at Indo-Lanka ministers meet

Saturday, 12 July 2014 01:51 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Foreign Minister G.L. Peiris (L) shakes hands with his Indian counterpart Sushma Swaraj before their meeting in New Delhi 11 July. Peiris is on a two-day visit to India – REUTERS

Fisheries issues topped the agenda at the Indo-Lanka Foreign Ministers meeting in New Delhi yesterday and culminated in the release of yet another 37 Indian fishermen being held in Sri Lankan custody. Minister of External Affairs G.L. Peiris met his Indian counterpart Minister Sushma Swaraj at South Block at 1 PM yesterday and discussed issues related to fishermen besides ways to boost economic ties, the Indian Ministry of External Affairs said. Minister Peiris said that, since the assumption of office of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, President Mahinda Rajapaksa had directed the release of 184 Indian fishermen held in Sri Lanka. The critical issues for Sri Lanka, he said, were deprivation of livelihoods of fishing communities in the Northern Province of Sri Lanka and irreparable damage to the seabed and the ocean floor by the use of such fishing methods as bottom trawling, a statement from the Ministry of External Affairs in Colombo said. The statement said that the Minister had expressed appreciation of the release of 41 Sri Lankan fishermen held in Andhra Pradesh a few days ago. “The two Ministers discussed the importance of finding a lasting solution to the problem of fishermen crossing into each other’s waters,” the statement said. Indian External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Syed Akbaruddin told reporters in New Delhi after the meeting that the two sides discussed issues related to fishermen and felt the need for a long-term solution. “Both countries felt that there is need for long-term solution to the problem and it should be seen as a matter of livelihood,” he said. Sushma Swaraj thanked the Sri Lankan minister for a “fast track approach” for repatriation of Indian fishermen. The Government released 37 Indian fishermen in custody in Mannar to Indian High Commission officials yesterday, after they were produced before the courts. Minister Peiris, who had noted that the meeting in May between President Mahinda Rajapaksa and Prime Minister Modi on the occasion of the latter’s swearing in ceremony had been particularly constructive, reiterated the President’s invitation to Prime Minister Modi to undertake an official visit to Sri Lanka. (DB)

GL thanks India for voting against Op8 of UN resolution on sri Lanka

Sri Lankan External Affairs Minister G.L. Peiris thanked the Indian Government for voting against Operative Paragraph 10, of the UN Human Rights Council resolution in Geneva in March during his meeting with his Indian counterpart, Sushma Swaraj in Delhi yesterday. Operative Paragraph 10 of the US led resolution mandated the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights to launch an investigation into alleged major rights violations by both sides during the last seven years of the war. Prof. Peiris indicated the steps being taken currently by Sri Lanka to continue and strengthen local mechanisms, the Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement after the meeting. “He briefed his Indian counterpart on the Parliamentary Select Committee process in Sri Lanka and the need to ensure its inclusivity,” the statement said.