The State Secretary of the Communist Party of India K. Balakrishnan said that the State Executive Committee of the CPI(M) strongly condemns the atrocity of the Sri Lankan Navy.
In a statement issued in this regard, he said, “The Sri Lankan Navy has arrested 24 fishermen and 4 native boats near Kachchathivi, who went to the sea from Dhanushkodi to catch fish in the traditional way in a country boat. The CPI(M) State Executive Committee strongly condemns this ongoing atrocity by the Sri Lankan Navy, which has captured more than two hundred fishermen and 28 boats in just one year. The Sri Lankan Navy, which used to arrest the fishermen who were using trawling, claiming that their country’s fishing industry was being affected, has now arrested and brutalized the country’s boat fishermen and boats who were engaged in the traditional fishing industry using trawl nets.
In June 2014 alone, around 50 fishermen were affected in such arrests. On June 17, the Sri Lankan Navy arrested four fishermen from Kottapattinam in Pudukottai district. On June 22, 22 fishermen from Rameswaram were captured. A week ago, 10 fishermen from Nagai district were arrested. Now, again on June 30, 24 people have been arrested by the Sri Lanka Navy and the boats have also been seized. Sri Lankan government news reports confirm that 214 fishermen have been arrested and 28 boats have been seized by the Sri Lankan Navy in the last one year alone.
Thus, the ongoing arrests are a disaster for the livelihood of Tamilnadu fishermen. The BJP, which has been talking about the issue of fishermen only during the elections, has never bothered to protect the fishermen with its power. Whenever Tamil Nadu fishermen suffer, they try to pass by by achieving fake silence. Recently, the Minister of External Affairs gave a reply to the letter written by the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu mentioning this issue.
He assured to take immediate action on it. However, the arrests of the Sri Lankan government and the capture of the boats did not stop. The CPI(M) State Executive strongly condemns the atrocities committed by the Sri Lankan Navy. The CPI(M) State Executive Committee urges the Government of India to take a firm stand and protect the fishing rights and livelihood of the fishermen of Tamil Nadu.
