India Takes Up Issue Of Arrest Of 16 TN Fishermen With Lanka, Protests Erupt In Rameswaram
Over the last three years, a total of 329 Indian fishermen were arrested, of whom 305 were from Tamil Nadu
New Delhi: India is taking up the issue of all the fishermen detained in Sri Lanka at the highest level to bring them back, the government told the Parliament on Friday.
Speaking in the Lok Sabha, Union Minister of State for External Affairs V Muraleedharan said that the safety of every Indian is of utmost concern for the government and it is bringing back every Indian in distress from anywhere across the world.
Notably, the Sri Lanka Navy arrested 16 Indian fishermen from Tamil Nadu for alleged violation of its maritime boundary on Thursday. Officials said 12 of them were picked up while fishing near Katchatheevu and the rest from the Gulf of Mannar. All 16 of them are currently in the custody of the island nation.
Muraleedharan said there have been several instances of Indian fishermen being arrested by Sri Lankan authorities for alleged poaching into their territorial waters and crossing the International Maritime Boundary Line (IMBL).
According to available information, over the last three years, a total of 329 Indian fishermen were arrested, of whom 305 were from Tamil Nadu, the minister said, adding that of the 96 Indian fishermen arrested by Sri Lanka in 2022, the government has secured the release of 80 and 29 were repatriated on March 10.
"Barring 16, we have brought back all the fishermen from Sri Lanka. We are continuously working with Sri Lanka to bring back everyone, including the 16 fishermen currently held," news agency PTI quoted Muraleedharan as saying during the Question Hour.
A total of 88 Indian fishing boats are in Sri Lankan custody, he added.
It is to be noted that several MPs from Tamil Nadu have raised the issue and sought the Centre's intervention for the early release and repatriation of the arrested fishermen.
Muraleedharan said the Centre has been taking up the issue at the highest level (in Sri Lanka), including a "2+2" meeting between the foreign ministers and the fisheries ministers.
"We also have a joint working group, which is meeting on Friday. The Indian High Commission also seeks consular access and provides essential items to the fishermen in custody," he said.
Muraleedharan said that whenever an issue of detention of fishermen comes up, the Centre takes it up with the authorities concerned, gets consular access, provides provisions to those detained and takes all measures for their repatriation along with the boats.
Referring to a recent repatriation of 61 fishermen from the Seychelles (56 from Tamil Nadu while the rest from Assam and Kerala), Muraleedharan said that as soon as the government came to know about them, action was taken and all of them were brought back home in an Indian Air Force aircraft.
He also cited the recent evacuation of 22,500 Indians from Ukraine despite difficulties.
Meanwhile, major protests erupted in Tamil Nadu's Rameswaram against the arrest of the 16 fishermen by the Sri Lankan Navy.
As part of the protests, 800 fishing boats did not venture out into the sea on Thursday.
Speaking to news agency IANS, Yesudas.S. Arokyasami, a fisherman from Rameswaram, said, "Even as more than 82 fishermen from Tamil Nadu were arrested by the Sri Lankan Navy since the beginning of 2022, the Central and state governments are not doing much against this. We are not going to the sea for fishing as a mark of protest against this injustice to fishermen from our state."
He added that although the Centre has helped the crisis-hit Sri Lankan government with funds, the island nation is yet to reciprocate the Indian gesture.
Another fisherman from Rameswaram, Mathew Arumugham, said, "Indian fishermen from Tamil Nadu are facing the brunt even after Sri Lanka was pleading with the Indian government for financial support. These attacks and regular arrests of Indian fishermen by the Sri Lankans cannot be accepted and we are calling off work for the day as a token protest and this will continue if inaction continues."
With the issue of Indian fishermen being apprehended by the Sri Lankan authorities over the crossing of International Maritime Boundary Line (IMBL) turning into a hot subject, the fishermen from Rameswaram are mounting pressure on both the Central government and the Tamil Nadu government to bring about a permanent solution to the matter.
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