Tamil Nadu CM Writes to Jaishankar Seeking Fishermen’s Release

Chennai: Urging Union External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar to ensure the expeditious release of 128 fishermen and 199 fishing boats from Tamil Nadu that were in the custody of Sri Lankan Navy, Chief Minister M K Stalin flayed the latest apprehension of 16 fishermen from Rameswaram, along with two mechanized boats, on Wednesday.

In a letter to the External Affairs Minister on Thursday, Stalin expressed the hope that the proposed meeting of India-Sri Lanka Joint Working Group would bring the two nations closer to find a lasting solution to the festering issue.

Incidents of arrests of fishermen were on the rise, causing considerable distress to the fishermen's families and hampering their livelihoods, he said, requesting Jaishankar to initiate necessary diplomatic efforts to prevail upon the Sri Lankan government to prevent the arrests.

‘I would like to inform you that the Sri Lankan Navy has apprehended 16 Indian fishermen hailing from Rameshwaram along with their two mechanised fishing boats bearing Registration Nos. IND-TN-10-MM-459 and IND-TN-10-MM-904 on 23.10.2024.’ he added.

PMK president Anbumani Ramadoss wanted the meeting of the Joint Working Group (JWG), scheduled for October 29, to pave the way for finding a lasting solution to the problem faced by Tamil fishermen with the involvement of the Union and the State Governments.

Expressing happiness over the officials of the State Fisheries department, too, taking part in the deliberations of the JWG, he said, in a statement on Thursday, the meeting coming at a time when the violations of norms by the Sri Lankan Navy were at a peak was a welcome thing.

Since June 16, when fishing operations resumed in the State, 404 fishermen had been arrested and 54 boats seized, taking the total number of boats in Sri Lanka’s custody to 192, he said.

The meeting of the JWG, coming up after a long gap of two years, had raised the hopes of a solution to the imbroglio, he said and recalled the courts too recommending the holding of the meeting several times.