Tamil Nadu chief minister M Karunanidhi today said that the Centre should press Sri Lanka to abide by the Indo-Sri Lanka accord of 2008 and desist from attacking Indian fishermen who stray into their waters.
In his address at the conference of chief ministers on Internal Security here, he also condemned the recent killing of two Tamil Nadu fishermen allegedly by the Sri Lankan navy.
"The Sri Lankan government should abide by the Indo-Sri Lanka joint statement on fishing arrangements (which) categorically states that there shall be no firing on Indian fishermen," Karunanidhi said.
Fishermen who cross International borders unwittingly and apprehended by other neighbouring countries in the West and East are not subjected to physical harm. ]
"But Indian fishermen who cross the International Maritime border off Sri Lanka are repeatedly subjected to physical harm, harassment and at times get killed," he said.
The Sri Lankan government must be asked to follow the due procedure of law as India does in the case of Sri Lankan fishermen who cross into Indian waters, Karunanidhi said.
He however thanked Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for deputing Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao to Colombo to take up the issue with Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse.
