Chief Minister M.K. Stalin on Wednesday wrote to External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, requesting the Union government to intervene and pressure Sri Lanka to stop its Navy from firing on Indian fishermen in international waters.
Mr. Stalin said on August 1, the Sri Lankan Navy fired on an Indian fishing boat from Kodiakarai, in which one fisherman, Kalaiselvan, was injured. Nine others miraculously escaped.
“It is highly condemnable that practices of international law are not being followed and our fishermen are being attacked. We cannot be silent in this situation and a solution must be immediately found,” Mr. Stalin said in his letter, a copy of which was circulated to the media.
The Chief Minister said it was India’s duty to ensure that Sri Lanka adheres to international laws. The island nation must stop attacking Indian fishermen and destroying their boats and fishing nets with immediate effect, and India must pressure it on the issue, he said.
He demanded that a lasting political solution be found to the issue, which was affecting the lives and livelihoods of thousands of Indian fishermen.
