Stir ends, Rameswaram fisherman laid to rest
RAMANATHAPURAM: Seven days after a young fisherman was allegedly gunned down, the protests against the Sri Lankan Navy was called off and funeral of the deceased held on Monday.
Thanking the youth for holding a peaceful protest and funeral procession, the leaders of the protest said they will decide the next course of action after a meeting with the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) representatives.
Though there was a confusion among protesters over the withdrawal of the stir on Monday, the leaders managed to convince a section of youth who were against the move to end the stir, which entered the seventh day on Monday.
Later in the evening, the family of T K Britjo, the deceased fisherman, received his body at Rameswaram Government Hospital. Britjo’s funeral procession started at the GH itself, and the body was brought to the protest site at Thangachimadam, where it was kept for homage for over an hour. The body was later taken to a crematorium belonging to T Susaiappar Pattinam Church. About 10,000 people attended.
“As the Central government representatives — Ministers of State Nirmala Sitharaman and Pon Radhakrishnan — have accepted all our demands, including recovery of 135 boats that were seized and kept under the Sri Lankan government’s custody, we have unanimously decided to end the stir,” said B Sesuraja and S Emerit, leaders of two different mechanised boat fishermen associations.
“The fishermen representatives are likely to meet the MEA authorities, as promised by Nirmala, on March 20. Till then, they will support the fishermen in other coastal districts, where protests have just begun,” said Emerit.
Meanwhile, Britjo’s father S Kemmeles and his uncle S Justin thanked the youth for their support in the protest, which was largely peaceful without any sort of violence. “The protest have shown the unity of fishermen. We have ended the stir believing the words of Nirmala Seetharaman. We hope that a permanent solution will be found for the problem,” said Justin.