Annamalai writes to Jaishankar over arrest of T.N. fishermen by Sri Lankan Navy

Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) Tamil Nadu unit president K. Annamalai on Tuesday (December 24, 2024) wrote a letter to Union External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, urging his intervention in the speedy release of 17 fishermen from Rameswaram who were arrested by the Sri Lankan Navy on charges of poaching in the island nation’s territorial waters.

Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) Tamil Nadu unit president K. Annamalai on Tuesday (December 24, 2024) wrote a letter to Union External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, urging his intervention in the speedy release of 17 fishermen from Rameswaram who were arrested by the Sri Lankan Navy on charges of poaching in the island nation’s territorial waters.

In the letter, Mr. Annamalai said the families of arrested fishermen are highly distressed as they depend on fishing for their livelihood. Stating that the anguished families have sought the intervention of the External Affairs Ministry in the matter, he called for the earliest repatriation of the arrested fishermen and their two fishing boats.

Tamil Maanila Congress (Moopanar) president G.K. Vasan condemned the arrest of the Tamil Nadu fishermen by the Sri Lankan Navy. In a statement, he said the recurring arrests of fishermen on charges of trespassing in Sri Lankan waters would highly affect their families and livelihood.

The fishermen from the Tamil Nadu coast continue to venture into sea for fishing with fear because of such excesses by the Sri Lankan Navy, he said, and urged the Union and State governments to take immediate steps to ensure their safety.