Chennai: Tamil Nadu chief minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami on Wednesday wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to urge the ministry of external affairs (MEA) to intervene in the release of 16 fishermen from Tamil Nadu languishing in the prisons of Sri Lanka.
“I urge you to direct MEA to register our strong protest at the highest level in Sri Lanka and organize an effective defence in Sri Lankan courts to secure the release of our fishermen without imposing any fine or jail term. I also request you to ensure that immediate action is taken to secure the release of all the 16 fishermen languishing in Sri Lankan jails,” chief minister Palaniswami said in his letter to the Prime Minister.
In addition to the 16 people in jail, eight fishermen from the Thoothukudi district were arrested by the Sri Lankan navy on 21 August and their boat seized.
The 16 fishermen who are in jail were convicted by a Sri Lankan court under the provisions of the Fisheries (Regulation of Foreign Fishing Boats) Act, purportedly for illegally fishing in the Sri Lankan waters and were fined LKR (Lankan rupees) 60 lakh each.
The Sri Lankan court had also said that if the fine is not paid, they will have to serve a term of three months’ imprisonment, Palaniswami said in the letter.
Opposition leader M.K. Stalin,the president of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), termed the Sri Lankan court’s decision to impose a fine on fishermen for allegedly fishing in the territorial waters of the island country as a “violation of human rights”.
“The BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party) government at the centre and the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) government in Tamil Nadu have not spoken out against the judgment,” he said.
In July last year, the Tamil Nadu government had highlighted that the amendments that were then being proposed by the Sri Lanka government to the Fisheries and Aquatic Act and Fisheries (Regulation of Foreign Fishing Boats) Act would impact the fishermen of Tamil Nadu.
The Tamil Nadu chief minister had then claimed that the legislation was a severe setback to the diplomatic efforts being taken to resolve the issue amicably.
Sri Lanka’s move to enforce the amendments when Tamil Nadu with the support of Union government has taken “proactive steps for transition towards a permanent solution, is nothing but a mockery of the diplomatic efforts being undertaken by India to sort out the sensitive issue. This has created a sense of panic in the minds of fishermen of Tamil Nadu”, he said on Wednesday.