Blistering condemnation marked a three-hour-long protracted protest by the Vangakadal Meen Thozhilalar Sangam (Bay of Bengal Fishermen's Association) here in front of the post office on Thursday.
Cutting across fishing Panchayats, fisherfolk from up to Vedaranyam participated in the protest that hosted over 200 fisherfolk, to condemn alleged attacks by Srilankan security forces on Tamil fishermen.
According to Kumaravelu, an activist and member of Vangakadal Meen Thozhilalar Sangam, the 1974 agreement that accorded transfer of Katchatheevu to Srilanka stripped fisherfolk not just of their land rights, but also their right to livelihood. What continued post-1974 with the transfer of Katchatheevu continued unabated since 1983, where fisherfolk of the Tamil Nadu have been continuously shot at, humiliated, injured and debilitated, Mr.Kumaravelu stated. This has been particularly marked, with the statistics of fisher folk who have been killed and incapacitated, especially from southern districts of Nagapattinam, Kanyakumari and Rameshwaram.
If the “current state of affairs were to continue, fisherfolk would intensify their agitation,” he said.
Parallels were drawn with the treatment meted out to fishermen of respective countries crossing over territorial waters of Pakistan and India. The speakers stated that breach of territorial waters was dispensed with jail term internationally. According to them, however, fishermen of the State were constantly shot at by the Sri Lankan security forces, in contravention of international norms.
According to K.Raghu, Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, District Joint Secretary, the arrest of MDMK Chief Vaiko in Chennai on Wednesday “was to prevent MDMK from taking out its protest demonstration against Sri Lankan killing of Chellapan, scheduled for Friday in Vedaranyam, as announced by Mr.Vaiko, last week at Vellapallam.”
Moorthy, Panchayat President of Vizhundhumavadi, stated that over Rs.7,500 crores was being contributed by the fishing community to India's foreign exchange. “Despite their economic contribution, fishermen do not ask for any perks but government's responsibility in ensuring their safety and security,”
Speaking at the protest, Rajendra Nattar of Keechankuppam called farce the exchange of letters and words of assurance by both the State and Central government on the issue of attacks on fishermen. No actual condemnation of the Rajapakshe government has taken place, Mr.Nattar said.
