RAMANATHAPURAM: A day after the Sri Lankan Navy arrested seven Tamil fishermen hailing from Ramanathapuram district for alleged violation of the International Maritime Boundary Line (IMBL), Rameswaram fishermen associations on Sunday announced a series of protests, including an indefinite strike from Monday and a hunger strike on Independence Day, demanding the union government to take action to address their long-pending issues.
After holding a meeting in Rameswaram on Sunday, they announced that over 7,000 fishermen will take part in the indefinite strike, with over 700 boats staying ashore. The fishermen will also stage a protest at Thangachimadam in Rameswaram, on August 13, ahead of the hunger strike on August 15. “If the centre fails to address our issues by then, fishermen will stage an indefinite rail roko in Rameswaram on August 19 (evening hours),” the association said.
In the wake of the continued arrests of fishermen, the associations demanded the union government to host bilateral talks with the SL government to retrieve the fishing rights near Katchatheevu island, and urged to secure the release of the Indian fishing boats confiscated by the SL Nnavy over the years. For those boats which could not be salvaged, the centre should provide relief, they added.
According to R Jesu Raj, a fishermen association leader from Rameswaram, as many as 61 Indian fishermen have been arrested by the SL navy for alleged IMBL violation since June 15 (when the annual 61-day fishing ban ended), this year. Stating that all the arrested fishers have not been released yet, Jesu Raj urged the centre to take action to ensure the release of all Indian fishermen in SL prisons.
Fishermen association leader R Sagayam said, “If our issues cannot be addressed, then the centre should buy our boats and provide us with financial aid, so that we can give up fishing and search for other jobs.”