India fishermen delegation to visit Sri Lanka

With Indian fishermen facing problems along the Sri Lankan border, Government on Saturday decided that a delegation of fishermen associations from Tamil Nadu will visit Colombo for discussions with their counterparts.

The decision was taken at a meeting convened by Foreign Secrertary Nirupama Rao with officials of various departments like the Defence Ministry, Coast Guard and the Tamil Nadu Government.
The meeting, in which Tamil Nadu was represented by Chief Secretary S Malathi and the Fisheries Secretary, "emphasised that resorting to firing and use of force in such situations as had happened in January 2011 had no justification".

"Satisfaction was expressed at the release of the 136 Indian fishermen by the Sri Lankan Government," an official statement from the MEA said. Sri Lankan Navy had apprehended these fishermen last week after they crossed into its waters.

India had strongly condemned the use of force against its fishermen and last month dispatched Rao to Colombo to register its strong protest with the Sri Lankan Government.

External Affairs Minister SM Krishna had on Wednesday asked the fishermen to be "conscious of the sensitivities" on the Sri Lankan side and their fishermen.

The meeting, which was also attended by the Director General of Coast Guard, welcomed the convening of the Indo-Lanka Joint Working Group on Fishing proposed for March, which would also discuss the proposed draft MoU on development an [...]