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Indo-Lanka fisher unions to aid counterparts held in respective jails
Local fisher unions, together with their Indian counterparts, have come together to bring about relief and related assistance to fishermen currently held in jails of the two countries, a maritime union spokeman said yesterday. National Union of Seafarers Sri Lanka (NUSS) President Palitha Athukorale said that the International Transport-workers Federation (ITF) were facilitating the move and that a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the different groups from both countries will be reached at the earliest.
“The main motive behind the groups would be to provide humanitarian assistance such as visiting those in jail and looking into their welfare such as health, living conditions etc,” Mr Athukorale said. He added that, owing to the current diplomatic spat between the government and the federal authorities in South India, Sri Lankan embassy staff in Chennai were facing uncomfortable moments when attempting to act on behalf of the local fishermen held in that country.
He added that, according to reliable information gathered by the ITF in Chennai, prison and even police officials are rude and uncooperative towards Lankan diplomats, and the fishermen have even been denied a legal counsel. “It is in this backdrop that the ITF sent a representative earlier today to meet up with a counterpart in Madurai and together, they hope to visit the Sri Lankan fishermen currently held in a jail in Sigundan in Palayamkottai.
The ITF men will also hire a legal counsel for the fishermen who are due to appear in court on Friday (8). They last appeared in court on October 25, but were denied bail, as there was no defence to argue their case”, Mr Athukorale said. “Hindu Mazdoor Sangh, or Trade Union National Centre, Vice President, Raja Sridhar will also be on hand to provide whatever assistance to the ITF representative in this regard,” he added.
“Also coordinating the efforts towards this end is Mahendra Sharma- ITF Regional Secretary for the Asia Pacific region,” Mr Athukorale said. ITF representative Dinesh Fernando who left for Madurai to assess the situation, told the Sunday Times that the local ITF representative would be assisting him to make the task easier.
“We also hope to make a jail visit during our stay in Madurai, and for our part, we will look into the interests of the Indian fishermen currently detained in Sri Lankan prisons.” That is our position, but the final solution will have to be made between the two governments,” Mr Fernando who is also the President of the All Ceylon Fisher Folk Trade Union added.
At present, 32 Sri Lankans are being held in jail in Madurai, and five multi-day fishing vessels in police custody.
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