Northern fishers still in a quandary, no solution in sight

by P. Krishnaswamy

While the decades-long cross-border issue between Sri Lanka and India remains unresolved in spite of repeated government and diplomatic level talks, the latest being Friday's New Delhi talks between External Affairs Minister G.L. Peiris and his counterpart Sushma Swaraj, the Northern fishermen who continue to be deprived of their livelihood expressed their woes to the Sunday Observer.

President of the Jaffna District Rural Fisheries Federation Nagathamby Ponnambalam said that he has about 48,000 fishermen in the membership of his fisheries organisation and there are over 100,000 families dependent on fisheries for their livelihood in the Northern province. All of them face extreme difficulties in eking out a living due to the poaching problem, he said. On the one hand their fertile fishing grounds were being depleted of their marine resources while on the other, they were being deprived of their day-to-day living. After taking advantage of the over two-decade-long conflict situation which had restricted fishing by the Northern fishermen, the Indian fish folks now seem to be asserting on their right to continue poaching, Ponnambalam said. It is a matter for regret that even their elected representatives, especially the TNA parliamentarians, have not so far taken up this issue either with the India or at any international forum. Neither have the Sri Lankan media focussed enough on their sufferings, he said.

Over 500 Indian fishing vessels come to their fishing ground at a time but only two or three are apprehended by the Sri Lankan navy now and then, he said.

The fishermen are of the view that President Mahinda Rajapaksa and Fisheries Minister Dr.Rajitha Senaratne will safeguard their welfare under these difficult circumstances, Ponnambalam said.

President of the Mannar District Fishermen's Federation Albert Justin Soysa and President of the Union of the Mannar District Fishermen's Cooperative Societies Noor Mohamed Alam who expressed similar views as Nagathamby Ponnambalam pointed out that the fishermen's representatives of Tamil Nadu had violated a previous agreement that they had reached after talks between the two sides in Chennai on January 27, 2014.