TN to release 30 SL fishermen, 19 boats on Dec 22

The Tamil Nadu government has agreed to set free 30 Sri Lankan fishermen and their 19 boats, currently in custody in the State. The fishermen would be released on December 22.

In a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Chief Minister O. Panneerselvam stated that the decision had been taken “in a spirit of accommodation and magnanimity and as a humanitarian gesture” and also in view of the approaching Christmas.

Giving the background in which the decision was made, he said that in the past, the State had always cooperated with the Centre to ensure that there was a parallel and simultaneous release of fishermen of both the Indian and Sri Lankan sides. However, now, the Union government was insisting on the State initiating the process of release of the Sri Lankan fishermen and their boats. “Ordinarily, we would have expected the Government of India to have supported the Government of Tamil Nadu’s stand and prevailed upon the Sri Lankan government to arrange a simultaneous release of fishermen and their boats. It now appears that the Government of India has ruled out this possibility.”

The Chief Minister also referred to two letters sent by Foreign Secretary Sujatha Singh to Tamil Nadu Chief Secretary K. Gnanadesikan this month in which the Centre requested the State to release the Sri Lankan fishermen and their fishing boats so that 66 fishermen of Tamil Nadu along with 81 boats could be released later.

He urged the Prime Minister to ensure that the Sri Lankan government also releases the fishermen from Tamil Nadu along with their 81 boats to enable them to return home for Christmas. (The Hindu)