TN wants Fishermen Talks on March 24

Continuing its efforts to settle the conflict between Sri Lanka and Tamil Nadu fishermen, the Tamil Nadhu government has proposed to the Central government to hold the the third round of talks between the fishermen here on March 24, New Indian Express reported. Official sources said on Tuesday that a letter in this regard has been sent to Suchitra Durai, Joint Secretary, Union External Affairs Ministry and now it is up to the Centre to communicate with the Sri Lankan government to get its consent for the talks. The earlier proposal of the State government to hold the talks in Chennai on March 5 was unfruitful as the newly-elected government in Sri Lanka had more pressing issues to deal with. The talks were initiated in 2013 by the efforts of then Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa. The first two rounds of talks were held on January 27 last year in Chennai and on May 12 in Colombo. While it created a conducive atmosphere to settle the issue amicably, no consensus was arrived at. Officials in the State government said they have prepared the agenda to be discussed during the talks. The main demands from the Indian side would be a full-stop to the prolonged detention of arrested fishermen and the alleged inhumane treatment of the fishermen by Lankan forces. The agenda also includes rights of Indian fishermen over areas where they have been fishing for generations.