Sri Lankan Navy arrests 30 fishermen

The Sri Lankan Navy has arrested 30 fishermen —13 from Rameswaram and 17 from Jagadapattinam in Pudukottai district — for fishing in Sri Lankan waters.

Demanding their immediate release, leaders of 11 fishermen associations have announced an indefinite strike from Friday.

“The Rameswaram fishermen had set out for fishing from the fishing jetty here in three trawlers and were fishing near Delft island when the Lankan navy apprehended them and seized their boats,” said U.Arulanandham, President of the Alliance for the Release of Innocent Fishermen (ARIF). They were arrested by the Lankan navy around 11 p.m. on Monday, he said.