43 Indian fishermen arrested by SLN
Posted by Editor on January 25, 2012 - 1:42 pm
A group of 43 Indian fishermen on board six trawlers were taken into custody by the Sri Lanka Navy in the sea off Mullativu for poaching in Sri Lankan waters.
They were handed over with six trawlers to the Trincomalee Habour Police where further action will be taken on them.
The group of fishermen had been poaching in the sea about five miles off the shored of Mullativu.
Courtesy: DM Online
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We must build a strong and effective border patrol to deter these thieves from stealing our national wealth.
Even their ex-President, the senile Dr Kallam, was apologising on behalf of the thieving fishermen.
SL Navy is doing an admirable job and their resources should be made stronger for effective border patrol.
This is too much! Indian fishermen are always pushing boundaries and stealing our fish wealth. The GOSL is at fault for taking such a soft line by releasing the men and their trawlers the moment TN and Central Govt issues threats. We should not tolerate this any longer. Isn’t it about time the GOSL takes a very firm line without being daunted by TN and Indian Govt threats. All the talks so far as has yielded no solutions. These trawlers are invading SL marine space. We should confiscate the trawlers this time and impose heavy fines and prison terms. That is the only lesson they’ll learn. Indian trawlers are many and large, compared to small fishing boats of our fishermen. They are robbing us of our fish wealth/stock on a massive scale. Hon President should not tolerate this just because he does no want to lose their support in UN. He should call for a definitve conference in Colombo to resolve this problem once and for all and not soft soap the issue, while we are being robbed on a vast scale daily.
Singapore has a law which decrees death penalty for drug pedalling. Likewise, SL should bring a law which decrees unpardonable death penalty for stealing national wealth including fisheries.. The maritime borders should be patrolled 24X7 to deter thieves and illegal immigrants and asylum seekers departing from our shores. Why do we need conferences to resolve issues of this nature? Wide publicity in Indian news media for the law relating to theft of national wealth will help in educating likely offenders of the consequences of their actions. Thereafter the law should be applied without fear or favour. When someone steals coconuts from the neighbour’s property, the person is arrested and charged. We don’t appoint a committee to resolve the issue. It is simple as that. When people are caught with drugs in Singapore, they don’t appoint committees; they take them to the gallows after the trial. Dr Kallam was advocting opening our maritime borders on alternative days to welcome theft. What a stupid suggestion. Will Dr Kallam open the doors of his house on alternative days to enable the massess to steal belongings and go scot free? I simply cannot understand the philosophy. If India disputes our maritime borders, they should eoither raise it at an appropriate forum or physically stake a claim by invading the space and establishing control. If their fishermen do not have enough fish within their borders, India could import excess fish stock from SL. I cannot understand why theft should be tolerated? If India has too many fishermen and not enough fish, they should look for their own homegrown solutions. Encouraging theft is not a solution.
This is not a simple domestic issue. This is a serious matter between two countries. That is why we need the countries’ leaders to try to resolve this amicably without leading to war. The SL navy will patrol our territorial waters while Indian navy could patrol theirs. Both should prevent their fishermen from crossing the line. Also, our fishermen should equip their boats with modern technology such as GPS for safe navigation, to know exactly where the boundaries are not to cross them. As we progress economically, our fishermen should also be equipped with such technology as in developed countries. Such equipment doesn’t cost the earth. Govt could provide special low interest loans to fishermen to buy the equipment for their boats.
O Learned Good Doctor,
There is no logic in your asking us to allow you to poach in our waters,full of good harvest,for three days of the week without your giving us atleast one day to enter into your depleted waters for atleast one day.Your policy seems to be ‘heads I win tails you lose’.This definitely is too bitter for us to swallow.
You may be our Big Brother but for the fraternity to continue you must acknowledge our sovereign independance.
Dear AUJ and Pradeep S,
Thank you for your critical response to Dr Kalam’s nonsensical solution to allow the South Indian fishermen to poach our territorial waters, since their side is already depleted of fish stocks, as they had overfished and not allowed fishlings to grow and multiply.
On our side, our fishermen are few in number and do not have large deep sea trawlers as the Indians have. Hence they do not overfish to deplete our fish stocks. The Indian fishermen are greedy. They see the rich stock of fish on our side of the fence. So they rob us wholesale. We cannot permit/suffer this any longer. Kalam is representing the South Indian fishermen, as he is a Muslim born in South India and has their interest at heart. He has also the interest of the Tamil nationalists in SL at heart. India wants to divert attention of Tamil Nadu Tamil nationalists’ attention to us, as a solution to its own problem, to prevent India from splitting up. Kalam is wicked in trying to deceive our Hon President. I hope the good President reads our comments against Kalam’s ‘solutions’ and not be misled/deceived by such absurd/puerile ‘solutions’. Hon President should decide in the favour of SL fishermen and preserve the interests of SL and its fish wealth in our territorial waters.
Would the Hon President give away our newly discovered oil and gas also? I think he has done this, through contracts with CAIRN ( a consortium of British and Indian off-shore oil drillers). This is because we have neither the skills nor the funds to drill for oil ourselves. I am sorry for our country. Our natural resources are being robbed lille by little by India too. India has been a colonial power since many centuries ago, in repeated invasions. Through the stupidity and rivalry of our ancient nobility, they elected a petty Nayakkar from Andra Pradesh, to be our last king of Kandy. At least the British did us a favour in getting rid of this paranoid psychopath, before he killed off our entire nobility.
Dear AUJ, please stop calling India ‘big brother’. India is actually our wicked nemesis, interested in its sole welfare, exploting us wholesale.The trade contracts between SL and India is not balanced. They are largely in India’s favour to our detriment, as India is dumping their rubbish on our shores. Our best friend is China. We should continue to have strong links with China and also have strong defence treaties with China and Russia to counter possible military invasions by USA and its allies, in support of Tamil nationalists in SL, for USA to have its biggest base in SL, to dominate South Asia.
Dear ND,
I am now convinced that India works on its own agenda and has very little concern for its friendly neighbour.I shall henceforth refrain from referring to India as our Big Brother. The notion has got stuck into my thinking mainly due to our faith in the birth place of our Teacher-Lord Buddha.Henceforth I shall look at anything coming from India with my eyebrows raised.
Dear AUJ,
You have made me very happy by agreeing not to refer to India as ‘Big Brother’ any longer. Thank you. I don’t know who invented this cliche.
India indeed has her own agenda for development and uses us. India has hardly been sincere in her dealings with us. During the Humanitarian Operation, Hon President was wise in sending a specail delegation of his two brothers, GR and BR along with others to win over India to refrain from saving the LTTE, despite Tamil Nadu, US and British pressure for India to intervene militarily in LTTE defence. It is to the credit of MR and his delegation in convincing India to refrain. India did so for its own benefit, partly to redress the the wrongs committed by Indira Gandhi in nourishing, training and funding the LTTE and releasing this virus on us to cripple our economy and cause devastation for 30 years, partly to punish LTTE for assassinating Rajiv Gandhi, partly to prevent LTTE from winning and helping Tamil Nadu nationalism for sovereignty and partly to maintain peaceful foreign relations with us.
Though born a Catholic, I too am a follower of Buddhist philosophy through conviction. I have amalgamated in my own way the concept of belief in the one true loving God with some Buddhist concepts in leading a life of renunciation of craving for wealth, power and finally self. I am grateful to Emperor Asoka for following the path of Buddhism in repenting for all the blood he shed in useless conquest of Indian kingdoms, the hard work he did in propagating Buddhism throughout India and the neighbouring countries. All these have nothing to do with modern India. I am grateful to Lord Buddha and Emperor Asoka, the individuals. Hence I am happy that you too are now circumspect in our country’s relations with India in the future. I hope we can convince the HOn President also to be so.
Dear ND,
I realise the folly of entertaining India as our big brother as India is steamrolling its agenda on us without any reciprocative returns for our goodwill brotherly feelings.They trained and financed the LTTE right from the start of the internal war and even interfered on our march to victory at Vadamarachi.They had a jolt when their own PM was assasinated by LTTE.
However I had a sentimental leaning towards India being the birth place of my Great Teacher.I shall refer to India as our big bully in my future references.
Dear AUJ,
India is indeed a big bully, since the Indira Gandhi era. They bullied us into submission to India’s will and agenda. India never helped us against LTTE, by selling us arms, even after Rajiv’s assassination. We procured our arms from Pakistan, Czech Republic, Ukraine and China. Manmohan Singh is a little better in not leaning on us, since the eradication of the LTTE by our heroic forces. Probably he feels guilty, for India having been instrumental in destroying our economy for 30 years through LTTE.
However, India is onceagain trying to twist our arms over the issue of allowing their huge fishing fleet to poach our rich fish stocks in our territorial waters, since they had overfished their own stocks in their waters. Let their deep sea trawlers fish elsewhere in the Indian ocean. This is a sensitive issue affecting the livelihood of our small-scale fishing fleet. I hope Hon President is not influenced by Indian bigwigs’ demands to let them poach in our territorial waters for 3 days, leaving us also 3 days. WHAT CHEEK!!! Is India trying to lay claim to our territorial waters eventually, by saying SL allowed by treaty, to let the Indian fishing fleet fish in our waters? They lost their claim to Kachchativu island, as we proved it definitively by historical records as SL territory.
Hon President has an onerous task of being diplomatic/tactful in dealing with this issue, so that it does not lead to war. Tamil Nadu will try to inflame the issue in order to embroil India in just such a war, leading also to separatism for N&E, as the TNA nationalists want. From TNA and TN point of view, if India enforces militarily for SL to grant autonomy to N&E, then SL will lose its claim to territorial waters in the North. TN fishermen can then fish as much as they like in those waters.
That is why, I strongly advocate an urgent Defence Pact with China, to prevent just such an eventuality. We need also a Defence Pact with Russia, to prevent USA and its allies from aiding diaspora Tamils and TNA to enforce on SL, autonomy to the N&E, in return for a base in SL. I’d rather China is allowed to have such a base than USA. JVP/JAM is also gearing-up with LTTE rump and TNA to create riots in SL on the scale of Libya, for military intervention by USA and its allies, including India, to secure autonomy for N&E for the Tamils. JVP/JAM hopes thereby to capture power in the South. This is a chess game we have to win against our enemies, local and foreign.