Following the arrest of 73 Indian fishermen by Sri lankan forces for allegedly fishing in lankan waters, India raised this issue with Sri lanka following instructions from External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj.
The Indian High Commissioner in Colombo was directed by the Minister to take up the issue “and our High Commissioner has taken up the issue with Sri lankan authorities,” Ministry officials said here on Sunday. These fishermen were arrested on Saturday days after lanka released 33 fishermen from the country.
Sri lankan Navy spokesman Kosala Waranakulasuriya said in Colombo that 41 Indian fishermen were arrested off the coast of Talaimannar in the north while another 32 fishermen were arrested off the Delft Islands and 15 fishing vessels were confiscated.The fishermen arrested in Delft were brought to the Kankesanturai port while others would be handed over to the fisheries inspection office at Talaimannar.
Meanwhile, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking laying down of a time-bound action plan to achieve a “long-term, permanent solution to the problem and also to put in place a strong and robust diplomatic response” to the issue arrest of the Indian fishermen by Sri lanka.
Sri lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa last month had ordered the release of Indian fishermen as a goodwill gesture. He had attended the swearing-in ceremony of Narendra Modi on May 26 in Delhi.Talks on the fishermen issue had ended in a deadlock early last month and negotiators are scheduled to meet again this month. Sri lanka had turned down a request from TN fishermen to allow fishing in lankan waters for 70 days a year and to allow bottom trawling.