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Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin on Tuesday urged Union External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar to take immediate diplomatic efforts to secure the release of apprehended fishermen and their fishing boats from the Sri Lankan Navy's custody.
"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 bearing Registration Nos.IND-TN-10-MM- 206 and IND-TN-10-MM-543 by the Sri Lankan Navy on 24.12.2024," MK Stalin stated in the letter to Jaishankar on Tuesday. He further brought attention to two separate incidents of attack on the fishermen and said, "Further, I would also like to bring to your attention 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." CM Stalin said that these kinds 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," he added. He further requested 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," CM Stalin said. (ANI)
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