Jayalalithaa writes to Indian PM again on Sri Lankan navy arresting Indian fishermen

Wednesday, 25 June 2014 00:59 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Chennai: In a second letter within a week, the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa has urged the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to take immediate action through diplomatic channels at the highest level secure the release of all the Tamil Nadu fishermen arrested by the Sri Lankan Navy for poaching in the island’s territorial waters. Reporting to the PM with a “deep sense of anguish” the arrest of another 11 Indian fishermen with three boats by the Navy yesterday, the Chief Minister assured that Tamil Nadu would work towards creating an atmosphere conducive for bilateral talks between the fishermen associations of Tamil Nadu and Sri Lanka to ensure that day to day issues are sorted out. The CM pointed out that the “vexatious issue requires a concerted and sustained diplomatic effort to ensure that a permanent solution is delivered.” Meanwhile, she asked the Government of India to “impress upon” the Sri Lankan Government to abstain from attacks on and “abduction” of the fishermen on the high seas in the Palk Bay. She asked the central government to effectively activate the joint mechanisms which are designed to ensure the speedy release of apprehended fishermen. The CM expressed hope that the Government of India and the Government of Tamil Nadu, working in tandem, can find a lasting solution to the long-standing issue of the safety, security and livelihood of the state’s fishermen in the Palk Bay. However, Jayalalithaa reiterated that a permanent solution to the issue lies only in the retrieval of Katchatheevu islet, to which India has a strong legal and historical claim. She said the unconstitutional Indo-Sri Lankan Agreements of 1974 and 1976 should be nullified and the traditional rights of the Tamil Nadu fishermen to fish in the Palk Bay should be restored. The Chief Minister refuses to accept India’s Supreme Court’s 1974 decision to cede the disputed islet to Sri Lanka.

Navy arrests 11 Indian fishermen for poaching

Kankasanthurai: Sri Lanka Navy personnel on Monday 11 eleven Indian fishermen along with their three fishing trawlers when they were engaged in poaching in Sri Lankan waters. Navy men in a naval craft attached to the Northern Naval Command arrested the Indian fishermen well within Sri Lankan waters in the seas north of Delft on 23 June, the Navy said. The arrested fishermen were handed over to the officials of the Department of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources in Kankasanthurai for legal action. Last week the Navy arrested 52 Tamil Nadu fishermen along with 12 trawlers on three separate occasions for poaching in Sri Lankan waters. Despite the arrests by the Sri Lankan Navy, the Tamil Nadu fishermen continue to invade Sri Lankan waters, robbing the livelihood of Sri Lankan fishermen.