Tension in Sri Lanka puts Indian fishermen in troubled waters

CHENNAI: The looming threat of another civil war in Sri Lanka has put the Ramanathapuram district of Tamil Nadu in a precarious situation. On one hand, the fishing towns of Rameswaram and Mandapam, less than 20 km from Sri Lanka across the Palk Straits, have been receiving scores of Tamil refugees from the island nation.

On the other, Ramanathapuram fishermen have come under attack from the Sri Lankan Navy.

Even as the Norwegian peace efforts struggle to make headway, the Sri Lankan army and the LTTE are in a state of military preparedness, forcing several families in Jaffna and Trincomalee to sail across to the Indian coast. More than 210 Sri Lankan Tamils who arrived at the Rameswaram coast in the last fortnight have been moved to the refugee camp in Mandapam.

Meanwhile, the increased patrolling of the Sri Lankan navy in Palk Straits has put Indian fishermen in troubled waters. On Tuesday, the Sri Lankan navy rounded up and sent back 517 fishing boats which set off from Rameswaram.

Again, on Thursday, the Sri Lankan navy attacked 450 Indian fishing boats and reportedly took away their catch.”The fishermen were near Katchatheevu islands when the Sri Lankan navy attacked them. We are constantly being attacked and the Indian government is doing nothing to protect our lives,” said NJ Bose, general secretary of Tamil Nadu and Pondhicherry Fishermen’s Federation.

For the fishermen of both the countries, Katchatheevu, around which fish density is high, has been a perpetual lure. “The same Sri Lankans who had been refugees in Rameswaram attack us now in mid-sea. It is humiliating,” says Raja, a fisherman.

There have also been several incidents of the Sri Lankan navy opening fire at the Indian fishermen. More than 100 Indian fishermen were killed and 900 others were injured in such firings between 1982 and 2002, when the LTTE- Sri Lankan government crossfire was happening.