A Sri lankan Tamil MP, part of the Tamil National Alliance delegation, which called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj recently, has come out openly against fishermen from Tamil Nadu for trespassing into the International Maritime Boundary line and stealing the marine wealth of the island nation. The statement comes at a time when Tamil Nadu Government squarely blames Sri lankan Navy for harassing fishermen from the State who venture out into the sea for fishing.
“Tamil Nadu fishermen trespass into Sri lankan waters and fish using trawlers regularly. This has affected the livelihood of fishermen in northern Sri lanka. We are not protesting only because the aggressors happen to be Tamil Nadu fishermen,” Selvam Adaikalanathan, who represents Vanni district in Sri lankan Parliament.
The Sri lankan Navy had recently arrested nearly 90 fishermen from Tamil Nadu for fishing in the territory belonging to the island nation and had seized 62 trawlers belonging to them. Though all the fishermen were released as per the orders of Sri lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa, the boats are yet to be released. According to Adaikalanathan, the fishermen in northern Sri lanka have to look on helplessly from the shores as fishermen from Tamil Nadu fish using big trawlers and wipe out the entire aquatic life in the region.
“We do not have any problem if they fish using traditional boats. But trawlers destroy the entire marine wealth,” said the MP in an interview to Thanthi TV, a Tamil news channel. He said only the BJP Government at the Centre led by Prime Minister Modi could solve the crisis in Sri lanka. “Mr Modi is the first Prime Minister of India who told us to include Muslims in Eastern province of Sri lanka while we speak to the Government in Colombo,” he said.
Meanwhile, D Kuppuramu, a BJP leader in Tamil Nadu, also blamed fishermen from the State for trespassing into the Sri lankan territory for fishing.
“Our fishermen are stealing the wealth of Sri lanka. The region was once the traditional fishing ground of our country. But the 1974 and 1976 agreements have made it clear that the islet Katchatheevu belong to Sri lanka and we have to restrict fishing in our side of the border. We should convince Sri lanka about our difficulties and try to get some concessions,” Kuppuramu, who fought the 2014 lok Sabha election from Ramanathapuram on BJP’s ticket, told The Pioneer.