Date:22/03/2003 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2003/03/22/stories/2003032202921200.htm

International

Chinese trawler attacked off Mullaithivu

By V.S. Sambandan

COLOMBO MARCH 21. A Chinese trawler was attacked and sunk off Sri Lanka's eastern shores on Thursday morning, leaving 17 fishermen ``missing'', officials of the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) said.

The Navy has blamed the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) for the attack, which took place at 4 a.m., 40 nautical miles off rebel-held Mullaithivu. The SLMM has begun investigations.

Nine crew members of the trawler, who escaped on a dinghy, were rescued by another Chinese trawler. ``The Navy quoted the rescued members as telling them that they were attacked by Sea Tigers,'' SLMM sources said here, adding that they were awaiting a report from their field monitors who would question the rescued members with the help of interpreters.

The Chinese Embassy has asked the Foreign Ministry to ``take necessary action to find the missing fishermen'', who were in Sri Lankan waters after obtaining a permit. The Eelam Peoples' Democratic Party (EPDP), a former militant group opposed to the LTTE, has blamed the Sea Tigers for the attack. The LTTE has not yet commented.

Thursday's incident in the island's Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) is the second major naval attack within a fortnight. An LTTE merchant vessel was sunk by the Navy on the high seas on March 10, heightening the tension between the rebels and the armed forces.