Fisherman killing: India lodges protest with Sri Lanka

By Nirupama Subramanian

COLOMBO, NOV. 29. India has lodged a protest with the Sri Lankan Government over an incident of firing at an Indian fishing boat near Kachchathivu on Monday in which one fisherman was killed.

``I have expressed our deep concern at the incident and have requested for the circumstances of the event to be conveyed to us,'' Mr. Gopalkrishna Gandhi, High Commissioner of India to Sri Lanka, said today.

The boat, RMS 2759, was fired upon on Monday night in Sri Lankan waters. It had four fishermen on board, of which one succumbed to injuries. The boat returned to India with the dead man, identified as Munaswamy.

The fishermen have alleged that it was the Sri Lankan Navy that had fired at their boat.

New Delhi holds the view that while it cannot object to Sri Lanka taking into custody Indian fishermen trespassing in its waters, it can and will object to firepower being used against them.

In a separate but related development, Sri Lanka today said it would work vigorously to obtain the release of its fishermen in custody in various parts of India.

A Foreign Ministry statement said an inter-ministerial meeting was convened by the Foreign Ministry last week to discuss the matter.

The Foreign Minister, Mr. Lakshman Kadirgamar, told the meeting that the issue of Sri Lankan fishermen in custody in India and Indian fishermen in custody here was a ``serious humanitarian and social issue'' as well as a ``sensitive political issue'' in both countries.

``The Foreign Minister said this issue should not be allowed to strain bilateral relations,'' it said.

Mr. Kadirgamar has proposed that a team of officials from the Ministries of Defence, Fisheries, the Navy, police and the Immigration Department, leave ``immediately'' on a visit to Kochi, and other places in south India where Sri Lankan fishermen are held, to obtain information and make recommendations for a plan of action.

Sri Lanka sent the former Minister, Mr. Lakshman Jayakody, as a special envoy to New Delhi in October to discuss the release of its fishermen and their boats held in ports and coastal towns across four southern Indian states.

Following a meeting between Mr. Jayakody and the Indian Agriculture and Fisheries minister, Mr. Nitish Kumar, a few Sri Lankan fishermen have already been released, but the movement is not as fast as Colombo would like it to be, due to the multiple state governments, district authorities and courts involved.

Sri Lanka believes Indian authorities might offer better co- operation if it could streamline measures for the release of Indian fishermen in its custody. The Foreign Ministry said that to this end, last week's meeting emphasised the importance of keeping Indian authorities informed on a ``expeditious basis'' whenever Indian fishermen were held.

At present, there are no Indian fishermen in Sri Lankan custody after the release of 26 detainees over the last four months.

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Section  : International
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