‘Mere allegations sans any proof’:

India dismisses claims of Lankan Navy attacks on fishermen

The Indian Government has dismissed claims of recent attacks on Indian fishermen by the Sri Lankan Navy as mere allegations sans any proof.

Director, BSM (Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Myanmar and the Maldives) Division, Ministry of External Affairs of India, Deepak Mittal made the submission in a counter affidavit filed in reply to a couple of Contempt of Court applications filed in the Madras High Court Bench against the Union Cabinet Secretary, National Security Advisor, Defence Secretary, External Affairs Secretary and Deputy Director-General of Indian Coast Guard, The Hindu reported yesterday.

The Court was told that the Indian Naval and Coastguard ships on patrol did not come across incidents where Indian fishermen were fired at in Indian waters.

The International Maritime Boundary Line (IMBL) was regularly patrolled by ships and aircraft, he said. Pointing out that the fishermen communities on either side of the Palk Straits were Tamils, Mittal said the problems faced by fishermen in both countries emanated from their fishing vessels straying into each other’s waters.

The Sri Lankan authorities had claimed that a large number of Indian fishing vessels entered their waters regularly.

Both sides have agreed to convene a meeting of the India–Sri Lanka Joint Working Group on Fisheries (ISJWGF) as early as possible besides resuming the dialogue between representatives of fishermen’s associations of both countries to understand each other’s problems better and arrive at a workable solution to the issues involved.

Discussions were also under way on signing a Memorandum of Understanding on Development and Cooperation in the field of Fisheries with the Sri Lankan Government.

These discussions gain significance in the light of a drop of around 90 percent in the number of Indian fishermen arrested by the Sri Lankan Navy since the issuance of the India-Sri Lanka Joint Statement on Fishing on October 26, 2008.

The statement issued during the visit of Minister Basil Rajapaksa to India reflected practical arrangements put in place to deal with bonafide fishermen crossing the International Maritime Boundary Line (IMBL).

It was agreed that there would be no firing on fishing vessels and that Indian fishing vessels would not tread into sensitive areas designated by the Sri Lankan Government.

Saying that the Tamil Nadu Government had issued a Government Order on July 10, 2000 notifying that the crossing of the IMBL would constitute an offence and attract a fine, Mittal said the Centre was working with the State government to sensitise the Indian fishermen on the need to respect the IMBL and not stray into Sri Lankan waters in the interest of their own safety and security. The present contempt applications were filed by a lawyer B. Stalin alleging disobedience of an interim order passed by the Court on October 14, in a public interest litigation petition filed by him, to provide a sufficient number of Coast Guard vessels on the International Maritime Boundary Line (IMBL) and to ensure that the Indian fishermen were not subjected to any harassment.

Eight Indian fishermen released

Eight Indian fishermen of the 13, detained by the Sri Lanka Navy a few days ago have been released.

The release comes in the wake of the mechanised boat fishermen threatening to go on an indefinite strike in Rameswaram demanding the Centre to ensure the release of their counterparts detained in Sri Lanka. Five fishermen were detained in November last year by the Sri Lankan Navy and jailed, and four were held on January 3 and four more on January 5. TOI