Hold TN-Lanka fishermen talks , Unions appeal to Swaraj

The National Fishworkers’ Forum has urged the Union Minister for External Affairs, Sushma Swaraj, to use diplomatic channels and fix a date for the fourth round of bilateral talks between the fishermen of Sri Lanka and India to sort out the fishing related problems like attack, arrest and seizure of boats of Indian fishermen, the Express reported. In a statement, NFF chairperson M Ilango requested the Minister to ask the Sri Lankan government not to arrest Indian fishermen, who cross the maritime border while fishing. The NFF leader welcomed Sushma Swaraj’s recent statement which said, “Our understanding is that it is a livelihood issue. Their fishermen come to our side (territorial waters) to fish, and our fishermen also go to that side, and then they get arrested. We want to sit with them and explain that this is a livelihood issue and can be solved only with a humanitarian approach, not otherwise.” Ilango said the Centre must take diplomatic steps to create a conducive atmosphere for bilateral talks between the fishermen of both the countries. He appealed to Sushma Swaraj to convene a meeting of the representatives of the fishermen, officials of the External Affairs Ministry and Indian High Commission in Colombo before the talks. The NFF leader insisted that fishermen representatives should be consulted on issues relating to them before the talks, the Express reported.