(UDHAYAM, CHENNAI) – Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami on Monday urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to take up the arrest of fishermen from the state with the highest authorities in Sri Lanka and to bring the apprehensions at high seas to an immediate halt.
In a letter to the Prime Minister, a copy of which was released to the media, he said, “I write with concern on the apprehension of Indian fishermen of Tamil Nadu and the malicious intent of the Sri Lankan Government to put the life, livelihood and the inalienable traditional fishing rights of poor Tamil Nadu fishermen into jeopardy.”
The Chief Minister said it has been reported that five fishermen from Tamil Nadu who set out in a mechanised fishing boat for fishing on June 17 from Mandapam fishing base of Ramanathapuram District after a 61 day long fishing ban, were apprehended by the Sri Lankan Navy, while fishing in their traditional waters in the Palk Bay, in the early hours of 18.6.2017 and taken to Karainagar, Sri Lanka.
Stating that the repeated arrest and prolonged incarceration of our fishermen creates unrest among the fishermen community of Tamil Nadu, he requested the Government of India to undertake a strong diplomatic stand so as to prevent the recurrence of such incidents.
“My Government reaffirms its commitment to find a pragmatic working solution and had initiated several measures with the support of Government of India.
This necessitates an urgent intervention at the highest level of Sri Lankan administration to avert these arrests of our fishermen and to release and return the fishing boats and equipment of our fishermen in a refurbished condition so as to win the confidence of our fishing community,” he said.
He also requested Prime Minister Modi to direct the Ministry of External Affairs to secure the immediate release of 16 fishermen and 136 fishing boats including the five fishermen and their one mechanised fishing boat apprehended on 18.6.2017 without any delay.