TNA comes under fire

by P. Krishnaswamy

The TNA has come under fire from Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Development Minister Dr.Rajitha Senaratne for making inflammatory statements that the Government is instigating clashes between the Northern fishermen and their South Indian counterparts over the poaching issue.

The government had arranged a series of meetings between representatives of the fishermen of both sides but the Northern fishermen had totally rejected the presence of any poachers in their traditional fishing waters, the Minister said.

To appease Tamil political leaders across the Palk Straits and keep them in their good books, the TNA and their former masters, the LTTE, deliberately ignored the plight of the Northern fishermen but the Government took all steps to stop poaching to safeguard their welfare.