Indian Fishermen do cross into Sri Lanka - Indian Coast Guard

[HeinzGud]

Indian Fishermen do cross into Sri Lanka - Indian Coast Guard

Commanding Officer H.H. More, Coast Guard Station Mandapam said Indian fishermen are crossing the International Maritime Boundary Line (IMBL) and getting caught by the Sri Lankan Navy for poaching in Sri Lankan waters.

Describing it as a long pending problem, he said the fishermen not only cross the IMBL, while setting out for fishing, but reach very close to the Lankan coast.

"We will not keep quiet if Lankan fishermen or fishermen from Pakistan crossed the line and fish near our coast," he said.

In the case of 40 fishermen, he said they were fishing near the Bolder point, 'very close' to the east coast of Sri Lanka, when they were arrested by the Lankan Navy on December 3.

The Indian fishermen, sometimes, move close to two km away from the Lankan coast, he said.

The fishermen go out for fishing and they do not indulge in smuggling acts, but when hundreds of fishermen set out for fishing and get close to the Lankan coast, the possibility of some of them indulging in smuggling activities, could not be ruled out, he said.

The fishermen, who were equipped with GPS, know fully well their location of fishing, but they were wilfully crossing the border, taking a risk. When the Coast guard vessel, stop them at the IMBL, they take a deviation to get into the Lankan waters.

"After crossing the IMBL, they even used to wave at us as we cannot chase at them across the IMBL," the Commanding Officer said.

Pointing out that from Rameswaram, the IMBL lay about 16 nautical miles and from the Sri Lankan side, 14 nautical miles from the Point Calimere, he said for a lasting solution, a massive awareness campaign has to be launched among the fishing community to change their mindset, he suggested.

On charges levelled by the fishermen that the Indian Navy and Coast Guard do not come to their rescue when they were attacked by the Sri Lankan Navy, he said "I can't help when they are in other's territory. I can protect them only if they are in my territory," he said.

The fishermen have been distributed Distress Alert Equipment, free of cost by the Coast Guard, but they seldom take the devise, when they set out for fishing, he complained.

The fishermen have to be educated that the use of bottom trawling would wipe out the entire marine resources and it would pose a threat to their livelihood in the future.

"There is so much of technology available now, but they should go hand in hand with the awareness campaign as the issue concerned the livelihood of the fishing community," Mr. More said.

Indian Fishermen do cross IMBL - Coast Guard officer

 

[W.G.Ewald]

The fishermen, who were equipped with GPS, know fully well their location of fishing, but they were wilfully crossing the border, taking a risk. When the Coast guard vessel, stop them at the IMBL, they take a deviation to get into the Lankan waters.

"After crossing the IMBL, they even used to wave at us as we cannot chase at them across the IMBL," the Commanding Officer said.

So Indian fisherman flout the law and defy Indian Coast Guard. Yet if they were to be attacked by Sri Lankan maritime authority would they not cry for protection of India Coast Guard?

http://ibnlive.in.com/news/6-indian-fishermen-attacked-by-sri-lankan-navy/385022-3.html

Pointing out that from Rameswaram, the IMBL lay about 16 nautical miles and from the Sri Lankan side, 14 nautical miles from the Point Calimere, he said for a lasting solution, a massive awareness campaign has to be launched among the fishing community to change their mindset, he suggested.

They are aware, they don't care.

 

[nrj]

News from December 14, 2012.

Fishermen do cross IMBL, says Coast Guard officer - The Hindu

 

[Yusuf]

Good that someone from the coast guard has spoken. Its always good to know all sides of the story as there is a lot of propaganda these days

 

[W.G.Ewald]

News from December 14, 2012.

Fishermen do cross IMBL, says Coast Guard officer - The Hindu

From the article:

The fishermen have been distributed Distress Alert Equipment, free of cost by the Coast Guard, but they seldom take the devise, when they set out for fishing, he complained.

They probably think Coast Guard will use the the equipment to track them.

http://www.inmarsat.com/services/maritime-safety/ship-to-shore-distress-alerts

 

[nrj]

The fishermen, who were equipped with GPS, know fully well their location of fishing, but they were wilfully crossing the border, taking a risk. When the Coast guard vessel, stop them at the IMBL, they take a deviation to get into the Lankan waters. "After crossing the IMBL, they even used to wave at us as we cannot chase at them across the IMBL," Mr. More said.

Now that's disturbing. Its not mistake of Coast Guard if TN Fishermen are acting stupid purposefully.

 

[Yusuf]

Now that's disturbing. Its not mistake of Coast Guard if TN Fishermen are acting stupid purposefully.

In local parlance we call it gand masti

 

[HEILTAMIL]

"After crossing the IMBL, they even used to wave at us as we cannot chase at them across the IMBL," the Commanding Officer said.

is he serious,


how else the night watchman and his forces can explain impotency, anyways

1.fishermen of many villages are requesting license for firearms, if denied they may turn to something else,

2.hope TN Gov acts on its words,
Tamil Nadu CM Jayalalithaa warns of legal action against Centre if attacks on fishermen not stopped - Times Of India

if the Centre failed to end the attacks on Indian fishermen, her government would be forced to proceed legally to retrieve the Kachchateevu Island, which, she felt was the only solution. India had ceded the island to Sri Lanka in 1974 through an agreement.

 

[nrj]

how else the night watchman and his forces can explain impotency, anyways

You are showing your true colors by calling Indian forces impotent. You are just another keyboard warrior while those soldiers are serving nation.

1.fishermen of many villages are requesting license for firearms, if denied they may turn to something else,

They want arms when they are not taking tracking equipment with them. What are they fighters or fishermen?

2.hope TN Gov acts on its words,
Tamil Nadu CM Jayalalithaa warns of legal action against Centre if attacks on fishermen not stopped - Times Of India

if the Centre failed to end the attacks on Indian fishermen, her government would be forced to proceed legally to retrieve the Kachchateevu Island, which, she felt was the only solution. India had ceded the island to Sri Lanka in 1974 through an agreement.

TN Govt or JJ can't do jack if Coast Guard itself says that TN Fishermen are crossing into SL waters when they are not supposed to. No one should cry rivers when Fishermen themselves have twisted agenda of non-cooperation with CG with more interests to cross into SL.

 

[sorcerer]

"After crossing the IMBL, they even used to wave at us as we cannot chase at them across the IMBL," the Commanding Officer said.

is he serious,


how else the night watchman and his forces can explain impotency, anyways

Because of these "night watchmen" , we all sleep peacefully at night in our comfortable beds.
=========================

Just because a certain faction of people are Tamil does not mean they are always right or they do the right thing always. We are all humans and we show the bravado, which when inconvinient for others will attract response.
There is no justification for mistakes committed.

 

[peacecracker]

Tamils are bullying Srilankans. these Tamil fishermen are not as innocent as it sounds.
tamilnadu needs more time to integrate into Indian union.

remember, there is atleast a 20-50% of tamil population aligning with this tamil nationalism which must be crushed(IMO) to establish peace in south India.

 

[pmaitra]

Looks like the Sri Lankan Ministry of Defense and Urban Development has difficulty understanding the very Agreement that Sri Lanka has signed with India, and on top of that, they have the temerity to accuse Indian fishermen of crossing into SL water, when SL Navy itself have been crossing into Indian waters, illegally.

SL Ministry of DUD (no pun intended) should first educate their own Coast Guard and Navy, before pointing fingers at others.

@sayareakd

Can you please clarify on the article 8 of 74 Agreement and Article 7 of 76 Agreement, Which mandates a ratification.

Article 8
This Agreement shall be subject to ratification. It shall enter into force on the date of exchange of the instruments of ratification which will take place as soon as possible.
Boundary Agreement in Historic Waters

The Agreement shall be subject to ratification. It shall enter into force on the date of exchange of instruments of ratification,
which shall take place as soon as possible.
New Delhi, 23rd March 1976

http://www.un.org/Depts/los/LEGISLATIONANDTREATIES/PDFFILES/TREATIES/LKA-IND1976MB.PDF

PS: I tried for MEA web site link , but for year 1976 there is no record.

It has been long time since i last read International law, except for Italian marines discussion here.

Signing and Ratifying a Treaty

so approval from Parliament is necessary in case of India.

 

[pmaitra]

@HEILTAMIL, please be respectful to the Indian Armed Forces, and its arms.
@arnabmit, and @HEILTAMIL, 2 km from where? Please be specific. The conclusion changes if it is 2 km from GoI acknowledged SL territory, and if it is 2 km from territory ceded but not ratified by the Indian Parliament. If you cannot be specific, don't write useless posts.

 

[Known_Unknown]

This is exactly what I mentioned in the other thread as well. India usually doesn't take shit from its smaller neighbours, and even in the case of Sri Lanka, India has meddled a lot by supporting the LTTE etc. If the GoI is now quiet about the arrests of Tamil fishermen by the Lankans, there must be a reason for it.

If the fishermen claim that the Sri Lankans are intruding into Indian waters and arresting them, then they need to prove that that is the case. Personally, I very much doubt that the Sri Lankan navy would cross the maritime boundary just to arrest scores of fishermen and then later release them. What purpose does that serve and why would Sri Lanka take a confrontational attitude towards India? Doesn't make any sense.

If JJ is really serious bout this issue, let us see her make those GPS positioning devices and distress systems mandatory on all fishermen's vessels. Anyone without one will not be allowed to fish. Lastly, maybe JJ can also set up a central monitoring station in TN which will monitor the positions of all those fishing vessels in real time and share that data with the Sri Lankans. The Sri Lankans can do the same with India. Not only will this remove the ambiguity of when and where the crossings are happening, but it will also put an end to illegal smuggling and/or terrorist activities in the area.

 

[Known_Unknown]

@HEILTAMIL, please be respectful to the Indian Armed Forces, and its arms.
@arnabmit, and @HEILTAMIL, 2 km from where? Please be specific. The conclusion changes if it is 2 km from GoI acknowledged SL territory, and if it is 2 km from territory ceded but not ratified by the Indian Parliament. If you cannot be specific, don't write useless posts.

"Ratification" is a formality in the Indian legislative process, unlike in the US where ratification is an important step which determines whether or not an agreement comes into force. According to wiki:

Kachchatheevu - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Under the treaty agreement of 1974, Indian fishermen do not have rights to fishing around the island as it is within the territorial waters of Sri Lanka. Indian fishermen were only allowed to dry their nets and use Church for religious observance. With the 1976 agreement where delimitation of International Maritime Boundary Line (IMBL) was agreed upon as required by the UNCLOS, Indian fishermen do not have any right to even engage in drying of nets and use of Church in Kachchativu as 1976 agreement supersedes 1974 agreement.

The island is not "disputed", as neither the GoI nor the GoSL seek to scrap the previous agreements. The TN government has no locus standi in the matter since national security does not fall within the domain of state functions as defined under Centre-State separation of powers.

 

[pmaitra]

"Ratification" is a formality in the Indian legislative process, unlike in the US where ratification is an important step which determines whether or not an agreement comes into force. According to wiki:

Kachchatheevu - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia



The island is not "disputed", as neither the GoI nor the GoSL seek to scrap the previous agreements. The TN government has no locus standi in the matter since national security does not fall within the domain of state functions as defined under Centre-State separation of powers.

Of course the island is not disputed. It is Indian territory. The TN government got it dead right on this one. The ceding comes into force after ratification, and on the day of exchange of the instruments of ratification. Ratification did not happen, so the ceding is null and void.

 

[Known_Unknown]

Of course the island is not disputed. It is Indian territory. The TN government got it dead right on this one. The ceding comes into force after ratification, and on the day of exchange of the instruments of ratification. Ratification did not happen, so the agreement is null and void.

But the Indian government does not exert any control over the island, and it is de facto administered by Sri Lanka. A territorial dispute can only involve sovereign states, and since TN is not a sovereign state, it cannot be party to this dispute.

Whether the agreement is null and void can only be determined after it goes through the judicial process and only after all appeals are exhausted will the Supreme Court give a direction on what needs to be done.

 

[HEILTAMIL]

issues and killings happening around the disputed island,
as per previous unratified handing over,
SL being the real happyhead of this deal and their happy to kill tamils religious doctrines will want to continue,
Delhi with its china boogey will support it,

TN and its fishermen who lose on this illegal deal are called as smugglers/extremists/terrosists/separatists over the dead body of 500+ dead bread winners
along with their sabotaged fishing boats/nets/GPS equipments,
@peacecracker

it should be disappointing for you that 80%(not 20-50) support anti-shamanism, also they neither want to form RAM Rajya nor want to join Italian fascists, the regional parties are economically working for them , so suck it up
during 1962 war they dropped the idea of separate nation which was only used as a card more to anti-hindi impostion than the vague and obselete separate tamil nation.

suicide bombers was not a new idea and it was also not learned from regional parties, you may want to suggest ban the classical tamil literarture
@pmaitra
you should have deleted my first post than the next,

i have explained in the deleted post about the usage of terms and its implication to the top delhi admins and the bureaucats who makes the decisions upon which the guards act upon, i haven't blamed them guards ,
still some fake supply of equip. cannot be agreed upon, i have been reading about the improper supply of arms to the army and airforce, so i assumed navy is not so diffy

p.s: hope you point some other members with big buttons who are talking about colours to act responsible as well

 

[pmaitra]

But the Indian government does not exert any control over the island, and it is de facto administered by Sri Lanka. A territorial dispute can only involve sovereign states, and since TN is not a sovereign state, it cannot be party to this dispute.

Whether the agreement is null and void can only be determined after it goes through the judicial process and only after all appeals are exhausted will the Supreme Court give a direction on what needs to be done.

The TN government cannot bypass the Central government when dealing with Sri Lanka, but it can be party to a dispute if it involves territory, resources, environmental factors, etc., of the state. The Indian Union is a Union of the States and UTs, and every state is entitled to look out for itself. Last time there was Indo-Bangla Water Treaty, the West Bengal government was very much part of the dispute and negotiations. TN government is doing the right thing to pressurize the Indian Government, and they have also filed a case in the Supreme Court. All this is on top of the fact that I already mentioned.

 

[pmaitra]

@pmaitra
you should have deleted my first post than the next,

I deleted that post because it was deemed offensive by the staff. Let's not get emotional here. Keep it objective. You can win over people to your side if you can cogently present your views. Fighting yields nothing, although I acknowledge we are all emotional beings. Same thing applies to @arnabmit.