Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin urged External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar to intervene and secure the release of 17 Tamil Nadu fishermen who were apprehended by the Sri Lankan Navy.
In a letter written to External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Tuesday, Stalin said that two fishing boats along with 17 fishermen were apprehended by Sri Lankan Navy near Kakada Theevu for allegedly fishing across the border.
They were taken to Mannar and Naval Camp and investigations are still on.
“I want to bring to your immediate attention to the recent incident of apprehension of 17 fishermen from Rameswaram along with their two mechanised fishing boats by the Sri Lankan Navy on 24.12.2024,” the letter read.
The letter added that two similar incidents took place on December 20, which Stalin referred to as ‘outrageous’.
“Further, I would also like to bring to your attention to two separate incidents of attack on our fishermen from Kodiyakkarai Village, Nagapattinam District by six unidentified Sri Lankan nationals on 20.12.2024. In this outrageous incident, three out of six fishermen who sailed in two country crafts were injured and their belongings such as GPS equipment, VHF equipment, fishing net, mobile phone and their fish catch were robbed from their fishing boats by the attackers,” Stalin said.
The letter stressed that this year, 530 fishermen were arrested and 71 boats were confiscated, making the fishermen’s lives difficult.
“These kind of frequent incidents of arrests and attacks make the lives of our fishermen, who depend solely on fishing in their traditional waters, highly uncertain and dangerous. In 2024 alone, 530 fishermen were arrested and 71 boats have been confiscated till date.
The recent apprehensions and attacks have created a sense of fear among the fishing folks who are solely dependent on fishing for their livelihood,” the letter read.
Stalin through his letter requested Jaishankar to take appropriate actions through diplomatic channels so that the fishermen’s lives do not become precarious.
“I therefore request you to kindly take concerted steps through appropriate diplomatic channels to secure the immediate release of all the arrested fishermen and their fishing boats. I also request that diplomatic steps may be taken to ensure that such attacks do not occur in future,” the letter said.
Fishing boats from Rameswaram yesterday were fishing near Kakada Island in Palk Bay Sea. The boats belonged to V Anthony Aaron of Thangachimadam Victorianagar and A Poondiraj of Thangachimadam Manthopu.