Fishermen issue

March 09, 2015 02:51 am | Updated September 23, 2017 12:51 pm IST

The statement by Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe that “it was legitimate to shoot Indian fishermen if they trespassed into Sri Lankan waters”, coming as it does when the Indian Foreign Minister is on an official tour of that country and on the eve of the proposed tour of the Indian Prime Minister, is unfortunate, insensitive, inappropriate and provocative (“ >Sushma seeks humanitarian solution to fishermen issue ,” March 8). Ms. Swaraj has rightly  responded, though in a disarming manner, by saying the issue is a humanitarian one. Mr. Wickremesinghe’s juxtaposition of the issue with that of the Italian marines case is a poor analogy. The Italians  face manslaughter charges and the matter is pending before the Supreme Court. Tamil Nadu’s fishermen and their Sri Lankan counterparts stray because it is almost impossible to fix territorial jurisdiction on the high seas in the same manner as is done in the case of determining a land boundary. The interpretation of territorial waters between nations has always been a grey area. 

K.R. Jayaprakash Rao,Mysuru

There is nothing shocking about Mr. Wickremesinghe’s statement. We appear to forget that Sri Lanka is a democratic, sovereign republic and he has been elected to protect its sovereignty.

The argument in some quarters that it is difficult to identify the International Maritime Boundary Line and that transgressions are unintentional does not hold water. Even the fishermen who are frequently caught violating the IMBL do not take this stand. They are open in saying that fish stocks are plenty in Sri Lanka’s waters and that they must be allowed to fish at least three days in a week. The fact is that Sri Lanka does not have a problem with fishermen in catamarans using ordinary nets but is upset about mechanised trawlers and deep sea nets, which decimate marine life. Our fishermen must be educated to respect the sovereignty of other nations and trained to explore alternative means of survival within Indian waters or land. Is it so difficult? There are bound to be abundant scientific solutions.

S. Pushpavanam,Tiruchi

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.