Sri Lankan Navy on Tuesday detained 34 Indian fishermen and their seven boats on the charges of poaching in the territorial waters of the island nation.
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Noting that almost 19 boats seized by the Sri Lankan navy were damaged during the last rainy season, Ilango said 46 boats still remain in the custody of Lanka and this will also be damaged, if not returned soon.
The chief minister said the arrest and detention of these fishermen who were “peacefully engaged in fishing activities in their traditional fishing waters” is unjustified.
Navy spokesperson Commander Akram Alavi said that the said fishermen were arrested in the seas off Kankesanthurai, Delft and Talaimannar.
He said the Pudukottai fishermen were produced before the Point Pedro court and lodged in the Jaffna prison till November 9.
Terming an agreement between India and Sri Lanka over Katchatheevu island in 1970s as “illegal”, he said the “Indian Government’s agreement (over Katchatheev) in 1974-76 is illegal as it was not ratified by Parliament”. “Even before the arrested fishermen are released, the Sri Lankan government has held 34 more”.
The nabbed-Indian fishermen have been handed over to the fisheries inspectors of the relevant areas. “The minister assured that the matter will be taken up with Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena at the earliest”, he said.
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