Sri Lankan Navy Cracks Down on Indian Fishermen: 22 Arrested, 2 Boats Seized

On Monday evening 22 fishermen were arrested by the Sri Lankan Navy for crossing the maritime border. The fishermen were from Tharuvaikulam and they were fishing in deep waters between India and Sri Lanka when they were arrested, and two mechanized boats were confiscated. The boats belonged to R Antony Maharaja and J Antony Then Danila.
Annamalai, who is the Tamil Nadu head of the BJP, and the rest of the party spoke to the External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on the matter. The Minister of Foreign Affairs
Jaishankar stated that the necessary measures would be provided to deal with this matter.
He stressed that this issue should not be made a political one as it is very important for the living of the fishermen.

Jaishankar also emphasized the continuous efforts of the government to cooperate with the high commission on the needs of the fishermen. In that respect, he pointed out twenty of them who were recently released. He promised them a face-to-face meeting with representatives of the fishermen's association and a combined workgroup shortly.

On the last weekend, 21 military personnel from the navy were arrested for being Indian fishermen and soon to be transported back to India. A Sri Lankan naval vessel and an Indian fishing boat had a collision in which an Indian
fisherman was shot and another was stranded in the water. Chief Minister to Tamil Nadu M.K. Stalin sent Jaishankar a letter asking the foreign ministry to help in negotiating with the authorities of Sri Lanka to get 87 Tamil Nadu fishermen released from detention that happened in Sri Lanka.

Author: Aarya Kadam
News Writer