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Fishermen on both sides of the Palk Strait to hold protests tomorrow
View(s):Both Indian and Sri Lankan fishermen will hold separate protests tomorrow in front of the diplomatic missions in Chennai and Jaffna calling for their demands to be met in the longstanding fishing issue between the two countries.
The Indian fishermen will demand that Sri Lanka stop arresting their fishermen and detaining their boats, while Lankan fishermen will demand an end to poaching by their Indian counterparts.The protests coincide with the proposed visit by Sri Lanka’s Fisheries Minister Mahinda Amaraweera to New Delhi following an invitation extended to him during the recent Indo-Lanka Joint Commission meeting in Colombo.
Minister Amaraweera told the Sunday Times he would take up with the Indian delegation the destruction of marine life in Lankan waters by Indian boats and the steps taken by the Sri Lankan Government to ban harmful methods of fishing by local fishermen.
“Our initial discussions would focus on Indian bottom trawling. We can’t accept this mode of fishing at any cost,” he said.
The Tamil Nadu fishermen who launched an indefinite strike from Friday will stage their protest in front of the Sri Lankan Deputy High Commission office in Chennai.
Rameshwaram Mechanical Fisheries Craft Association President N. Devadas told the Sunday Times that in addition to demanding that the Indian Government ensures that fishermen won’t be arrested by the Lankan Navy, they would also demand that they be allowed to fish in Lankan waters as they had a traditional right to do so.
Pointing out that they were facing hard times because of their ongoing agitation and the 45-day mandatory ban on fishing coming into effect in April, Mr. Devadas said, both governments should look at their issue in a humanitarian way.
Meanwhile, in Sri Lanka, northern fishermen will hold a protest in front of the office of the Consulate General of India in Jaffna, supporting the Lankan Government’s actions and diplomatic efforts to stop illegal fishing by Tamil Nadu trawlers and the use of unauthorised fishing methods by local fishermen from other parts of the country.
Fishermen from Jaffna, Kilinochchi, Mannar and Mullaitivu will take part in tomorrow’s protest.