මුහුදු සීමාව කඩ කළ ඉන්දීය ධීවරයෝ 43 ක්‌ නාවික හමුදාවට කොටුවෙති
ලසිත දුමින්ද
මුහුදු සීමා උල්ලංඝනය කළ ඉන්දීය ධීවරයෝ හතලිස්‌ තුන් දෙනෙකු (43) සමග ධීවර යාත්‍රා හයක්‌ පෙරේදා (24 වැනිදා) රාත්‍රී නාවික හමුදාව මගින් අත්අඩංගුවට ගෙන ඇත.
මොවුන් පුල්මුඩේ උතුරු ප්‍රදේශ මුහුදු තීරයේ මසුන් අල්ලමින් සිටියදී මෙසේ අත්අඩංගුවට ගත් බව නාවික හමුදා ප්‍රකාශක කමාන්ඩර් කෝසල වර්ණකුලසූරිය මහතා පැවැසීය.
මෙම ධීවරයන් ත්‍රිකුණාමලය වරාය වෙත රැගෙනවිත් වැඩිදුර පරීක්‍ෂණ සඳහා ඊයේ (26) ත්‍රිකුණාමලය වරාය පොලිසියට භාරදීමට නාවික හමුදාව පියවර ගෙන ඇත.
http://www.divaina.com/2012/01/26/news13.html
Indian trawlers seized off Pulmoddai amidst common fishing ground proposal
By Shamindra Ferdinando
Close on the heels of former Indian President A. P. J. Abdul Kalam suggesting Indian and Sri Lanka’s northern fishermen could share the Palk Bay, the Sri Lanka Navy apprehended six Indian trawlers along with 43 fishermen north of Pulmoddai on the east coast.
The proposal was made in spite of Sri Lanka recently rejecting the possibility of sharing its territorial waters with India.
The SLN said that Fast Attack Craft (FACs) P 484 and P 485 on routine patrol seized the boats north of Pulmoddai on Tuesday evening.
The seizure was the second this month followed by the arrest of 13 fishermen along with two trawlers 6.5 nautical miles east of Pulmoddai on Jan. 11 for what the SLN called willfully trespassing in Sri Lankan waters. The government released them as a goodwill gesture ahead of high level talks in Colombo to settle poaching issue.
Authoritative sources told The Island that it would be a grave mistake on Sri Lanka’s part to accept a common fishing ground due to sharp difference in the size and capacity of the two fishing fleets. Sources said that since the conclusion of the conflict in May 2009, the Indian fishing fleet had stepped-up operations across the Indo-Lanka maritime boundary in spite of efforts on the part of the SLN.
Indian and Sri Lankan fishermen could fish in the Palk Bay in turns to avoid the current problems, or switch to deep sea fishing for better returns, Kalam said at the end of his four-day visit to Sri Lanka. He was responding to a media query at a press conference in Colombo on Tuesday.
Former President Kalam said that of the seven days in the week, Indian and Sri Lankan fishermen should fish in turns for three days each, leaving one day for resting. During this time, both fishermen could cross each others boundaries. "Wherever there is fish they cross borders. Nobody can stop them… Of course, both governments will have to bless them," he said.
http://www.island.lk/index.php?page_cat=article-details&page=article-details&code_title=43953
We were treated with dignity – released TN fishermen
Jan 25, 2012, RAMESWARAM: There was a pleasant twist to the tale of the nine Indian fishermen who returned to Rameswaram from Talaimannar in Sri Lanka on Tuesday morning. The fishermen, who arrived in an Indian Coast Guard vessel at Mandapam, told the media that they were treated with dignity and given good food and proper accommodation during their stay at Sri Lankan naval base in Talaimannar.
The naval personnel took them into custody on Saturday afternoon after two of their boats broke down in Lankan waters. Chinnian, Malaichamy, Tamilselvan and Selvam from one boat and Rajamanickam, Packia Joseph, Mariappan, Vijayakumar and the owner of the second boat, Ramu, were taken to the naval base where they were held for two days. On Monday night, the Sri Lankan navy released them at the International Maritime Boundary Line and the Indian Coast Guard took custody from there on.
Mariappan and Packia Joseph told the media that they were stranded in Lankan waters near Katchatheevu when the navy personnel found them. They casually asked the fishermen what the problem was. Upon learning that the vessels had broken down, they towed the boats to the naval base at Talaimannar. "We were treated in a dignified manner and they provided us good food and decent accommodation throughout our stay there," they said. Later, Ramu told TOI on phone that the naval personnel spoke to them in Tamil. "We feared the worst. But they treated us well. At Talaimannar, they repaired my boat," he said. "Besides food, they gave the fishermen comfortable beds to sleep and bed sheets. They didn’t torture us in the name of inquiry but just asked how we ended up in that area. When we explained the problem, they helped us in a very humane way," he said.
However, many in the fishing community mentioned that there is a palpable change in the attitude of Lankan naval personnel towards Indian fishermen. Those who were stranded in Lankan waters during Cyclone Thane were treated well, according to them. "We feel that their attitude changed after we disassociated ourselves from the attack on Thirukumaran Natesan, a relative of Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse, by Tamil nationalist groups when he visited the temple here," said Selvakumar, a boat owner from Rameswaram.
(Times of India)
http://www.island.lk/index.php?page_cat=article-details&page=article-details&code_title=43955
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