Sri Lankan Navy arrests 56 Tamil fishermen in two days

[KS]

More "co-operation" in violation of the terms of '74 agreement

Colombo/Rameswaram (TN), April 7: At least 56 Tamil fishermen have been arrested and their boats seized by Sri Lankan Naval personnel on charges of fishing in the island nation's international maritime boundary in 48 hours, officials said on April 6. 30 fishermen from Rameswaram were arrested and their five mechanised boats seized by the Navy personnel while fishing near Katchatheevu, an islet ceded by India to the neighbouring country, around 5 PM, they said. Official sources said the arrested fishermen were taken to Talaimannar by the Navy

Read more at: Sri Lankan Navy arrests 56 Tamil fishermen in two days - Oneindia News

 

[Singh]

Edited thread title.

 

[Yusuf]

JJ better start issuing GPS for better navigation for fishermen than give free TVs (that was by MK) ₹1 idly and free what not.

 

[Singh]

As long as they are let off after a speedy detention, no problem from my side.
Or Get Indian CG to patrol those waters, and there should be a on sea resolution.

 

[Yusuf]

As long as they are let off after a speedy detention, no problem from my side.
Or Get Indian CG to patrol those waters, and there should be a on sea resolution.

Coast guard has to be there and may be an increase in strength is required in the area.

 

[KS]

Coast guard has to be there and may be an increase in strength is required in the area.

Coast Guard is already there in Rameswaram. Just that they dont usually respond to distress calls in time .Cant fault those guys, they are just doing their duty. Unless orders come from higher ups in New Delhi, which in turn must come from Central Govt, they cant do anything.

 

[KS]

JJ better start issuing GPS for better navigation for fishermen than give free TVs (that was by MK) ₹1 idly and free what not.

No need for GPS. Tamil fishermen are LEGALLY ALLOWED to fish in waters around Katchatheevu (from where they have been arrested). So central Govt must first kindly,sincerely and humbly request the lankans to stop arresting Indian fishermen for doing no wrong.

Or she should allow the fishermen to arm themselves ( a long standing demand from them) to defend themselves.

 

[arnabmit]

You want it to become a bloodbath now? :fp:

Maybe after LTTE, it will give rise to LFTE? Liberated Fishermen of Tamil Elam?

Or she should allow the fishermen to arm themselves ( a long standing demand from them) to defend themselves.

 

[Singh]

Or she should allow the fishermen to arm themselves ( a long standing demand from them) to defend themselves.

Where will they get the arms from ?

 

[nrj]

What kind of arms they want? The ones which can stand against SL Navy? Civilians fighting against armed forces? Looks like inane idea to me.

Rather Coast Guard should be made to extend duty or device new resolution around fishing waters.

 

[pmaitra]

The Coast Guard must induct more vessels, and these vessels must coordinate with the local fishermen, and escort them. If an Indian Coast Guard vessel is nearby, SL Navy will not be able to arrest these fishermen. Moreover, Coast Guard should be given the freedom to respond to distress calls immediately, with local Coast Guard officials empowered to respond without having to seek approval.

 

[arnabmit]

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. But as part of the Sri Lankan civil war, this arrangement has led to many difficulties with the Sri Lankan Navy that is deployed to prevent smuggling of weapons by the rebel group LTTE. The island has a Catholic shrine that attracts devotees from both the countries.[1] On 2009, Tamil Nadu Government declared that the area is controlled by the Sri Lanka against the original pact of allowing Indian fishermen to access the water of Sri Lanka. This tensions and the atrocious killings of Tamil fishermen by Srilakan forces created a diaspora in and across India and the governments of both the countries held conversation and finally the Sri Lankan government allowed a full access term to Indian fishermen till Jaffna Line and released the fishermen jailed for a while. The problem continue to grow as more fisherman move in to the Sri Lankan sea area.

"The 1974 and 1976 Agreements taken together with the Exchange of Letters, that was signed between Mr. Kewal Singh, the then Foreign Secretary to the Government of India, and Mr. W.T. Jayasinghe, then Secretary to the Ministry of Defence and Foreign Affairs of Sri Lanka, has put the question of fishing rights beyond doubt . Paragraph 1 of the Exchange of Letters very clearly rules out any fishing rights for the fishermen of the two States in the waters of the other State which reads as follows;

Quote
"Fishing vessels and fishermen of India shall not engage in fishing in the historic waters, the territorial sea and the EEZ of Sri Lanka nor shall the fishing vessels and fishermen of Sri Lanka engage in fishing in the historic waters, the territorial sea and the EEZ of India, without the express permission of Sri Lanka or India, as the case may be."
Unquote

Looks like greedy Tamil Fishermen, on the instigation of the missionaries, are deliberately violating the territorial waters of SL.

Statement on the issue of Kachchativu by Hon. Minister of Foreign Affairs

No need for GPS. Tamil fishermen are LEGALLY ALLOWED to fish in waters around Katchatheevu (from where they have been arrested). So central Govt must first kindly,sincerely and humbly request the lankans to stop arresting Indian fishermen for doing no wrong.

 

[pmaitra]

History

Ownership of the island was controversial up until 1974 as during British Rule this island was administered by both countries. It was ceded to Sri Lanka by India from the Indian state of Tamil Nadu in 1974. The legality of the transfer is challenged in the India supreme court since the ceding was not ratified by the Indian parliament.This transfer of an island that is culturally important to fishermen of Tamil Nadu state in India has led to some agitations by Tamil Nadu politicians that it should be returned to Indian sovereignty. The island is also important for fishing grounds used by fishers from both the countries. 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. But as part of the Sri Lankan civil war, this arrangement has led to many difficulties with the Sri Lankan Navy that is deployed to prevent smuggling of weapons by the rebel group LTTE. The island has a Catholic shrine that attracts devotees from both the countries.[1] On 2009, Tamil Nadu Government declared that the area is controlled by the Sri Lanka against the original pact of allowing Indian fishermen to access the water of Sri Lanka. This tensions and the atrocious killings of Tamil fishermen by Srilakan forces created a diaspora in and across India and the governments of both the countries held conversation and finally the Sri Lankan government allowed a full access term to Indian fishermen till Jaffna Line and released the fishermen jailed for a while. The problem continue to grow as more fisherman move in to the Sri Lankan sea area. In 2010 the Sri Lankan government issued a notice to the Tamil Nadu government saying the Indian court cannot nullify the 1974 agreement.[2]
In June 2011, the new Tamil Nadu government led by Jayalalithaa filed a petition in Supreme Court seeking the declaration of the 1974 and 1976 agreements between India and Sri Lanka on ceding of Katchatheevu to Sri Lanka as unconstitutional.[3] The court ruled in Berubari case that cession of Indian territory to another country had to be ratified by parliament through amendment of the constitution. Katchatheevu was ceded to Sri Lanka in violation to the court under the 1974 and 1976 agreements without the approval of two Houses of Parliament.

Source: Kachchatheevu - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[ganesh177]

Why does the title says tamil fisherman ?
Since its a international issue it shud rather say indian fishermen were arrested ?

 

[KS]

Where will they get the arms from ?

The state govt will arm if center gives the go ahead.

 

[mikhail]

Looks like greedy Tamil Fishermen, on the instigation of the missionaries, are deliberately violating the territorial waters of SL.

Statement on the issue of Kachchativu by Hon. Minister of Foreign Affairs

mate before calling the innocent Tamil fishermen greedy we should look at the other side of the coin.the SL navy is not known to be a "holier than thou" organization worldwide,their hands are pretty much soaked with innocent HINDU Tamil people blood!
the Tamil fishermen have every right to fish around the island of Katchatheevu as technically its an Indian island which was gifted to the lankans in 1974 and afaik,there is no ban on fishing near this island as far as the Indo-SL accord of '74 is concerned.
so the thing which we should probably do now is to deploy our Coast Guard near that island and we should ensure that these types of incident don't take place in the future and if required we should intimidate SL to stop this nuisance!

 

[arnabmit]

That is the point! Indians are NOT allowed to fish there. They were allowed access to the island based on '74 accord. However as per the '76 agreement, Indians are not supposed to even go to the island without a visa, let alone fish in its waters. The fishermen keep pin pricking by entering sovereign SL territory and then raise hue and cry when they get arrested.

These missionary brainwashed fishermen are anything but innocent! Look at the map below.

India Sri Lanka Maritime Boundary - Google Maps

The agreement itself. Look at Article 5.

[PDF]http://www.commonlii.org/in/other/treaties/INTSer/1976/8.pdf[/PDF]

mate before calling the innocent Tamil fishermen greedy we should look at the other side of the coin.the SL navy is not known to be a "holier than thou" organization worldwide,their hands are pretty much soaked with innocent HINDU Tamil people blood!
the Tamil fishermen have every right to fish around the island of Katchatheevu as technically its an Indian island which was gifted to the lankans in 1974 and afaik,there is no ban on fishing near this island as far as the Indo-SL accord of '74 is concerned.
so the thing which we should probably do now is to deploy our Coast Guard near that island and we should ensure that these types of incident don't take place in the future and if required we should intimidate SL to stop this nuisance!

 

[pmaitra]

Island ceding not ratified by Parliament, so technically it is Indian territory and Indians may fish there, IMO.

 

[arnabmit]

What do people do in case of disputed property? Till the time claim is formalized both parties stay away, doesn't they?

Island ceding not ratified by Parliament, so technically it is Indian territory and Indians may fish there, IMO.

 

[pmaitra]

What do people do in case of disputed property? Till the time claim is formalized both parties stay away, doesn't they?

Why should both parties stay away? It was Indian territory, and it's transfer has not yet been ratified by the Indian Parliament, so shouldn't status quo be maintained?