Stalin Urges Diplomatic Action to Halt Sri Lankan Arrests of Tamil Nadu Fishermen
Chennai: Chief Minister M K Stalin urged the Union External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar to convene the Joint Working Group meeting to find a permanent diplomatic solution to the problem of fishermen from Tamil Nadu being regularly arrested by the Sri Lankan authorities who also seize their boats and fishing gear.
In a letter to Jaishankar on Thursday, Stalin said: ‘The number of apprehensions of fishermen from Tamil Nadu by the Sri Lankan Navy have rapidly risen in the past few months and immediate and continued diplomatic action has to be taken to stop these apprehensions as the livelihood of the fishermen and their families are affected for long periods of time.’
Thanking Jaishankar for his detailed response in his letter dated February 9, he drew his attention to yet another incident of apprehension of 10 fishermen from the State, along with their fishing boats by the Sri Lankan Navy on February 19.
The 10 fishermen, who had ventured for fishing from Rameswaram fishing harbor, were apprehended by the Sri Lankan Navy along with their three mechanised fishing boats bearing registration numbers IND-TN-10-MM-943, IND-TN-10-MM-936 and IND-TN-10-MM-722, he said.
‘I therefore request you to kindly take effective diplomatic measures to prevent the arrests of the fishermen and to secure the release of all the apprehended fishermen and their fishing boats from the Sri Lankan authorities,' he added.
