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PM’s office to secure release of 32 Lankan fisherman in Indian custody
Negotiations have been initiated by the Prime Minister’s (PM) office, on the instructions of Premier Ranil Wickremesinghe, with the Indian Government, for an exchange of fishermen, to secure the release of 32 Sri Lankan fisherman currently in Indian custody.
The Government is to offer to release 18 Indian fishermen and their boats, being held in Sri Lankan custody.
The Lankan fishermen were taken into Indian custody last year and early this year, after straying across the maritime boundary into Indian territorial waters.
Meanwhile, the PM’s office has also called for an explanation from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, for its failure to secure the release of the Lankan fishermen, despite instructions given to do so.
State Minister of Fisheries & Aquatic Resources Development, Dilip Wedaarachchi told the Sunday Times that he had earlier written to the PM, requesting that action be taken to obtain the release of the Lankan fishermen and to have them brought back to Sri Lanka.
Mr Wedaarachchi said the PM’s office had forwarded his letter to the Foreign Ministry, ordering it to do the needful.
The Foreign Ministry, however, had then written to Mr Wedaarachchi’s Ministry, stating that the PM’s office had not detailed any instructions on how to proceed with the task of securing the release of the fishermen.
The State Minister said that, after being made aware of the letter sent by the Foreign Ministry, the PM had called for an explanation. “The PM has also informed the Foreign Ministry that his office will secure the release of the fishermen, as they could not afford to wait around for the Foreign Ministry to take action,” Mr Wedaarachchi stated, adding that, the PM’s office was now negotiating through the Indian High Commission in Sri Lanka, to effect the fishermen’s exchange. “We hope it’ll be finalised within a week and our fishermen returned home,” he said.