India, SL fishermen issue needs lasting solution: Envoy

6 June 2015 04:44 am - 8 - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

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The long-drawn fishermen problem between India and Sri Lanka – that has often threatened to spoil ties – needs a “bottoms-up solution rather than one imposed from above,” Sri Lankan High Commissioner in India Sudharshan Seneviratne said.

The fishermen problem, that has recently seen some harsh language used by Sri Lankan Fisheries Minister Mahinda Amaraweera – with India voicing its displeasure – can only be solved through “earnest dialogue”, says Seneviratne.

“In my opinion, both parties are trying to talk. The government of Mr. (Narendra) Modi is very concerned to try and work out a solution. But it has to be a short-term, mid-term and long-term process, with an understanding on both sides of the modalities, he said.

“Unless you can carry out an earnest dialogue in good faith, the problems will continue,” the envoy, who has been recalled just one year into his term, told IANS.

Indian External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj during her recent press conference had commented that sometimes “very provocative statements come” from Colombo, which can “vitiate the atmosphere”.

She said that both sides need to keep the atmosphere conducive before discussing the fishermen issue.

Seneviratne says both sides have to “understand the needs of the people, based on the old cultural, economic habits and the flexible way of people in using the resources”.

He says a “qualitative change seems to have occurred” on the old flexible ways of fishermen when the LTTE was dominating the area. The envoy said the mechanised way with bottom trawling of fishing “is unacceptable for Sri Lanka and India”. The bottom trawling, followed by Indian fishermen, “is a very destructive process; it is like killing the goose that lays the golden egg”, says the envoy.

He said the bottom-trawling by the larger and heavy-built Indian fishing vessels is leading to the “total destruction” of the marine ecology, the marine plants and breeding area of fish.

He said according to marine ecologists, “In the next 6-8 years, the total marine ecology will be destroyed for South India and Sri Lanka”.

Seneviratne points out the “contradiction” in the way the Tamil Nadu fishermen and others in the state get “hyped up about problems the Tamil people are undergoing” and the bottom trawling by Indian fishermen “which is depriving the Tamil fishermen of Sri Lanka of their livelihood”. The practice also destroyed the nets laid out by Sri Lankan fishermen.

He stressed that the issue has to be resolved through dialogue. “We can’t put barriers. There is a historical connectivity between these people – there are inter-marriages that took place. There has to be a bottoms-up solution rather than a solution imposed from above,” he stressed.

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Comments - 8

Nihal Amarasekera Saturday, 06 June 2015 10:25 AM

Fishing for a comment, hard to find, may be bottom trawled.

Waco Saturday, 06 June 2015 11:05 AM

Tell bot Indial and Sri Lankan Fishermen not to cross the Boundry line.

Waco Saturday, 06 June 2015 12:10 PM

No human can resolve man made issues of Tamils which are in the pipeline coming one after the other. Number is not known. All to their advantage only.

Dalubanda Saturday, 06 June 2015 12:21 PM

Have a understanding that each country confiscate fishing boats that crosses and send back the fisherman to respective country.

Ralph Saturday, 06 June 2015 12:45 PM

These waters were exploited by the Indians since 1983. It is time that the resources return to the Sri Lankan fishermen.

ANTON Saturday, 06 June 2015 12:47 PM

BUT THIS PROBLEM DID NOT ARISE WHEN THE DAMN WAR WAS GOING ON ... WHY ? ... WAS THERE A EVERLASTING SOLUTION THEN ?

ANTON Saturday, 06 June 2015 12:49 PM

DEAR MR. MAHINDA ........ PAKISTAN KNOWS WELL THE SO CALLED EVERLASTING SOLUTION, THAT IS WHY INDIAN FISHERMEN DO NOT GO TO PAKISTAN WATERS.

Abdul Saturday, 06 June 2015 01:25 PM

whatever we do we should do it without harming the sovereignty of sri lanka. if the relatives of intermarried fishermen wants to visit sri lanka we can issue them some special visa and put an immigration check point in thalai mannar or jaffna. we can give them access to the country in a legal way with customs checking and immigration clearance.

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India, SL fishermen issue needs lasting solution: Envoy

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