Source: NFF
To
Dr.
Manmohan Singh,
Honourable
Prime Minister of India,
Office
of the Prime Minister,
New
Delhi.
Sir,
Sub:
Indian fishermen arrested by Srilankan Navy and incarcerated in Srilankan prisons
– a total of 75 within one week – seeking the intervention of your good self –
Reg.
Twenty
six fishermen from Karaikal of Puducherry, who ventured into the sea on April 5th
for fishing in 5 boats, were captured by the Srilankan Navy and are put behind
the bars. You may remember that a fisherman from Karaikal was shot at by the
Srilankan Navy on 5th of March. Last week 56 fishermen from Ramnad
district were taken into custody by the Srilankan Navy and 19 of them are still
remanded. The fishermen of Ramnad district abstained themselves from fishing
for over a week due to this fact. And when they went back to fishing this week,
they are harassed. On 7th March, yet another 30 fishermen from
Ramnad district are captured by the Srilankan navy and are incarcerated. This
makes a total of 75 Indian fishermen being arrested within a week alone.
The
fishermen of the southern districts of Tamilnadu, from Nagapattinam till
Kanykumari and the Karaikal district of the Union Territory of Puducherry are
been suffering harassment of various kinds by Srilankan Navy. They are beaten,
their nets and boats are damaged, their catches are confiscated, many of them
are arrested, incarcerated and some are shot at (resulting in life loss to the
tune of over 500 fishermen so far). The Tamil fishermen see no reason for
continuation of such behavior even after the end of the civil war in Srilanka.
We
seek the intervention of your good office in finding a long standing solution
to this perennial issue. The solution should have the involvement of the local
government such as that of Tamilnadu and Puducherry. A continuous process of
dialogue between the fishermen of the two nations should also be considered as
a part of conflict resolution.
I
wish to bring to your notice the existence of specific authority consisting of
various countries, in batches of two or three countries that share coastline
facing common seas, to resolve such fishing and alleged crossing the border
issues. Russia, Japan and the Koreas are part of such authorities. We wish that
an ‘Indo Srilankan Marine Disputes Authority’ be established in similar fashion
due to your intervention.
Yours
Sincerely,
(M.
Ilango), General Secretary, NFF.
