Stalin Writes to Jaishankar for Release of Tamil Fishermen in Sri Lanka

Chennai: Chief Minister M K Stalin urged Union External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar to initiate immediate diplomatic steps to secure the release of the 27 fishermen from Tamil Nadu, who had been apprehended by the Sri Lankan Navy since Saturday, and the four boats and fishing gear that had been seized.  

‘I want to bring to your attention a matter of grave concern that has been affecting the lives and livelihoods of Indian fishermen,’ Stalin said in his letter to Jaishankar on Monday.

He said that the Sri Lankan Navy arrested 23 fishermen from Rameshwaram  and seized four boats bearing  registration numbers IND-TN-MM-237, IND-TN-10-MM-970, IND-TN-10-MM-56 and  IND-TN-10-MM-708 for allegedly crossing the IMBL on Saturday.

In another incident, a mechanized fishing boat carrying registration number IND-TN-11-MM-726 and four fishermen were apprehended by the Sri Lankan Navy, he said, adding, ‘these repeated instances of arrest and seizure  have struck fear into the hearts of the fishing communities along our coastline.’

The  livelihoods of the fishermen, who are often the sole breadwinners for their families, are  at stak and the economic implications of these recurrent arrests are profound, as they lead  to not only the loss of income for the fishermen and their families but also jeopardize the  food security of countless individuals who depend on their catch, he said.

Reacting to the same arrest of fishermen on the Palk Straits, former Chief Minister and AIADMK coordinator O Panneerselvam, who leads a faction of the party, wrote to the Prime MInister Narendra Modi to take immediate steps to release them

TNCC President K S Alagiri threatened to organize a protest in front of the Sri Lankan High Commission in Chennai soon if the fishermen was not released. In a statement he wanted the Prime Minister to speak to Sri Lankan President Ranil Wikremasinghe and sort out the issue.

The fishermen, who hailed from Rameswaram, Thangachimadam and Mandapam in Ramanathapuram district, had been reportedly taken to Kankesanthurai by the Lankan Navy and such incidents had been happening regularly for the past few years, he said.