Tamil fishers urge their MPs to take up the issue with Tamilnadu CM as Modi-AKD talks detail unclear

Siva Parameswaran

Fisher folk from Sri Lanka’s northern province say they are deeply worried and fear about their livelihood will continue since talks about the issues they face between President AKD and Indian PM Modi have not found a sustainable answer.

President Anura Kumar Dissanayaka had recently returned from New Delhi-his first official visit after taking over as the head of the state.

“We discussed the fishermen issue is to be dealt with in a humanitarian way,” Indian PM told in a joint meeting with the visiting Sri Lankan president.

In the absence of a clear solution, fisher leaders in the north now urged their representatives to take up the issue with the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu M.K. Stalin, to find a peaceful solution to the decades-long issues faced by the war-affected community.

A discussion was recently held between the Governor of the Northern Province and the fishermen associations of Jaffna, Killinochchi, Mullaitivu, and Mannar regarding the problems they faced.

The former president of the Northern Province Fishermen Cooperative Federation N Warnakulasingam spoke to the media after their meeting with the Governor, expressing concerns about the potential infiltration of the Indian fishermen into the Sri Lankan territorial waters and endangering their livelihood.

“The President has expressed views that the issue will be dealt with on humanitarian grounds. But no statement has come about what was discussed or spoken there. So what we think is, under the pretext of humanitarian reasons, we are concerned they will come into our seas again. We informed the Governor about this. He said that he would speak with the Minister in this regard”.

Last week after their meeting in Delhi the Sri Lankan President and the Indian Prime Minister said their discussion included the important fishermen issue as well.

President Dissanayaka in his post on social media platform X said their discussion included “stopping illegal fishing”.

In his speech along with the Indian PM, he expressed his concern over the ecological damage in the Palk Strait due to illegal fishing practices. He was cautious not to refer to the offending party.

“While welcoming the recent conclusion of the Sixth Joint Working Group on Fisheries, we also discussed the need for a cooperative approach to address the fisheries issue for a sustainable solution. Recognizing the irreparable ecological damage caused by bottom trawling which is a banned practice in both countries, I requested that measures be taken to stop this practice and curb IUU fishing”.

At a special media briefing at the Information Department office on the morning of the 20th of December about the President’s visit to India, Foreign Minister Vijitha Herath said, the incursions of the South Indian fishermen into Sri Lankan waters and indulging in illegal fishing were discussed during the visit.

Adding further he said, both sides agreed to probe deeply into the long-lasting issue to find out a permanent solution.

During the discussion with the Governor Nagalingam Vedanayagam, fishermen from the Northern Province Federation representatives informed him the fisher community is prepared to resolve the issue in a peaceful manner, and that may be informed to the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu in writing, Annailingam Annarasa, spokesperson of the Northern Province Fishermen Federation told reporters after the meeting.

“We place a kind request before the MPs who represent us and the four Northern districts. The fishermen’s community is prepared to resolve this issue in a smooth, cooperative way with goodwill. It could either be MPs Shritharan or Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam or Ravikaran or Selvam Adaikalanathan, please write to the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister on your official letterhead and inform him, that we are prepared to resolve not only the fishermen issue but also other issues as well”.

Over 50,000 fishermen families are affected by the incursion and illegal fishing by the Indian fishermen he said further adding it seriously affects their livelihood and the representatives of the Tamil people should intervene and stop illegal fishing in the Sri Lankan waters.

“We appeal to the Tamil Nationalist Parties and other leaders, on behalf of the 50,000 fishermen families and the welfare of the 200,000 people in the North to find a solution to the issues”.

Local journalists say representatives of The National Aquatic Resources Research and Development Agency (NARA), Department of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources, and Office of the Land Commissioner participated in the meeting between the Northern Province Governor and the fishermen association representatives.