65 Lankan Fishermen Arrested By Indian Coast Guard

(April 29, Chennai, Sri Lanka Guardian) The Indian Coast Guard has arrested four more Sri Lankan fishermen raising the total number of arrests to 65 in the past week.

They were picked up for fishing in Indian waters off the Andaman Island.

The fishermen and their boats were taken to Mandapam Coast Guard station near Rameswaram in Tamilnadu for enquiry.

Though the Sri Lankan authorities have raised the matter with Tamil Nadu, there has been no response so far, media reports on Wednesday quoted an official spokesman..

This is one of the rare occasions when so many Lankan fishermen have been arrested for fishing in Indian waters.

There have been incidents of Sri Lankan fishermen moving towards the waters around Andaman in search of tuna fish, which is in great demand in the island nation and Maldives.

The detention of Indian fishermen for straying into Sri Lankan waters is also a common occurrence.

Sri Lankan Navy officials have expressed apprehension of LTTE cadres moving into the high security zone of the island country's seawaters in look alikes of Indian fishing trawlers under the garb of being its fishermen.

Indian Coast Guard ships and aircraft regularly carryout surveillances and patrolling in the Indian Maritime Zone and along the International Maritime Boundary Line (IMBL).

Meanwhile, fishing activity in the sea here remained suspended following the annual 45-day ban on fishing imposed by the government in view of the breeding season.

Refugees arrive

In another development, a group of 37 Sri Lankan refugees arrived at Arichalmunai near here from Mannar, Vavunia and Jaffna in two boats.

This was the first time in last six months that such a large number of refugees arrived in a single batch.

According to officials, the refugees had fled the island due to bombing by the Sri Lankan forces since Saturday. There was also acute scarcity of food.

The refugees said thousands of Tamils were waiting in jungles to flee to India. Schools and colleges in Jaffna peninsula had been closed, they said.
- Sri Lanka Guardian