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Stalin seeks PM Modi’s intervention over arrest of fishermen by Sri Lankan Navy
In a letter written to Modi, a copy of which was released by Tamil Nadu government, Stalin expressed that such incidents have been repeated in the past, and urged him to arrive at a permanent solution against the attack on Indian fishermen.
Tamil Nadu chief minister M K Stalin on Friday sought Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s intervention in securing the release of 23 fishermen of the state who he said have been arrested by the Sri Lankan Navy.
In a letter written to Modi, a copy of which was released by the state government, Stalin expressed that such incidents have been repeated in the past, and urged him to arrive at a permanent solution against the attack on Indian fishermen.
“The continued attacks on innocent fishermen of Tamil Nadu by the Sri Lankan Navy are a matter of grave concern,” Stalin said in his letter.
The chief minister asked Modi to take up this issue with the Sri Lankan authorities at the diplomatic level so as to ensure the freedom of the 23 fishermen. He explained that these fishermen from Nagapattinam set out to sea on October 11. The Navy of the island nation arrested them off the coast of Vettilaikeni near the Point Pedro on October 13 for allegedly crossing the International Maritime Border. The fishermen were detained at a naval base. “This is highly reprehensible,” Stalin said.
He urged the Prime Minister to immediately intervene and take steps to permanently end the long-standing dispute between the Indian and Sri Lankan fishermen, an official press release from the Tamil Nadu government said.
The maritime dispute between Sri Lanka and Tamil Nadu has remained unresolved for decades owing to the state’s use of trawlers and depleting resources in the seas. The attacks and arrests against Indian fishermen increased after the end of the civil war in Sri Lanka in 2009. Earlier this year, the bodies of four fishermen washed ashore in Sri Lanka believed to be from Tamil Nadu’s Ramanathapuram district that led to protests. Successive state governments in Tamil Nadu, both the DMK and AIADMK have raised this issue with the union government seeking a solution.
