Sri Lankan Navy arrests 29 fishermen in a day

Five fishermen from Rameswaram who went to fish in a mechanised boat and seven fishermen from Thoothukudi who went to fish in a country boat were arrested by Sri Lankan Navy when they were fishing near Mannar coast. The Thoothukudi fishermen were indulged in deep sea fishing while the ones from Rameswaram were involved in daily fishing. All 12 fishermen were taken to Kankesanthurai Port and were later produced at Judge’s house and were remanded till January 4, 2017. They were later sent to Vavuniya prison. 

On the following morning, when the fishermen went to sea near Neduntheevu, Sri Lankan Navy arrested 17 more fishermen in three boats. Out of the 17, fishermen 13 were from Rameswaram and four were from Jagadapattinam in Pudukkottai. Three mechanised boats from the fishermen were also seized. The arrested fishermen were taken to Kankesanthurai port for verification and following the verification they would be remanded, it is said. 

For the second time in two days, Chief Minister O Panneerselvam shot off another missive to the Prime Minister expressing ‘deep sense of anguish’ over apprehension of 29 fishermen and four fishing boats by SL Navy. “The recurrent instances of attacks upon and abduction of our fishermen on the high seas in Palk Bay should be stopped immediately,” Panneerselvam said.

The arrest of 29 Tamil Nadu fishermen on December 21 and 7 more on Tuesday has angered the fishermen community. They claimed that despite several rounds of talks the arrest by Sri Lankan Navy continues. The fishermen have decided to stage an indefinite fast until the abducted fishermen and boats are released.